Ingmarie Halling´s Birhtday!

 Ingmarie´s instagram account

Birthday weekend in snowy stockholm and one of the two best hotel in Sweden.. @rivalsthlm with friends and family. Love you guys "

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0D6kiAix4Y/

video and screenshots lisahallingaadland

Agnetha, Görel and Lolo ( Agnetha´s friend) attended!!!

Agnetha attended!!!

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https://www.instagram.com/p/C5YxQVnCCvj

update  20042O24

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Ian McKellen and Björn Ulvaeus now with Kylie Minogue

Watch “famous knitting brothers” Ian McKellen and ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus agree to knit stagewear for Kylie Minogue

The duo are set to hand-make some festive garments for the band, dancers and Kylie herself

By

Liberty Dunworth

24th November 2023

Björn Ulvaeus and Sir Ian McKellen. CREDIT: Press

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A special request has come in this year for our famous knitting duo, Björn and Ian! Who could say no to Kylie?

Creative Direction: Svana Gisla Director and Editor: Sophie Muller Filming: Robbie Ryan Sound: Otis Tree Set design: Christopher Woodhams Runners: Otis Faber and Holly Leaddley With special thanks to Björn Ulvaeus, Ian McKellen and Kylie Minogue

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Sir Ian McKellen and ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus have returned with another festive knitting video, this time, agreeing to create some stagewear for Kylie Minogue.

The new video was shared on the ABBA Voyage Twitter/X page earlier this morning (November 24), and shows the renowned actor and iconic musician continuing their annual tradition of coming together to knit festive jumpers for the Christmas season.

 

The collaboration between the two first sparked back in 2021 when the pair shared a video of them knitting ABBA-branded Christmas jumpers in silence – and the footage quickly went viral online.

A second instalment arrived last year too, with a video of them making a new set of festive attire being shared, followed by an ABBA merchandise range which also included Christmas cards and bobble hats.

Now, McKellen and Ulvaeus are back for a 2023 edition of the tradition, this time revealing that they will be teaming up with Kylie Minogue to knit some stagewear for her upcoming shows in Las Vegas.

In the video, the duo are seen knitting a new range of jumpers, before getting a surprise phone call from the Australian singer, who shares her love of their collaboration and asks them to “whip up something for the band, all the dancers and myself?”

More than happy to oblige, Sir Ian wipes away a tear and declares that the two will become “famous knitting brothers” by working with Kylie. Check out the full clip below.

The Nevada shows Kylie mentions in the clip refer to her residency at the Voltaire in Las Vegas, which she kicked off over the summer and went on to extend due to high demand for tickets.

The Australian pop star also released her long-awaited album ‘Tension’ earlier this year – her 16th studio album which contained the hit summer anthem ‘Padam Padam’.

As for Ulvaeus, ABBA are set to continue their hit Voyage shows into 2024. The virtual shows were first teased back in 2017 when it was announced that the band would reunite in digital form by 2019. After the reunion tour was delayed, ABBA Voyage was finally announced in September 2021.

Since launching, the virtual tour has been a huge hit at the purpose built ABBA Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – described by NME as “an epic avatar mega-mix from a brave new world” – and has been reported as preparing for a world tour.

The shows also welcomed the one millionth visitor earlier this year, and Ulvaeus told NME about what the future has in store for the ambitious live experience.

“We hope to stay in this venue for as long as we can. We hope they’ll have us for many years, and we might build other replicas of this in other places: Asia, Australia, North America. There are lots and promoters and cities that we’re talking to at the moment about that,” he told NME. “Each one would take at least two years to build, but there will be announcements towards the end of this year or the beginning of next about where we actually are going. That’s if we’re going somewhere, which we will.”

He also opened up about the possibility of bringing ABBA Voyage to Glastonbury, stating: “I don’t think that’s possible, yet. It might be in the future. As it is, it’s too complicated because the lighting, the sound, the visuals, everything is integrated and it’s so complicated.”

https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-famous-knitting-brothers-ian-mckellen-and-abbas-bjorn-ulvaeus-agree-to-knit-stagewear-for-kylie-minogue-3548811

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Kylie Minogue y ABBA no dan puntada sin hilo

Por

Jordi Bardají

24 noviembre, 2023

0

En 2021, Björn Ulvaeus de ABBA, y el actor británico Ian McKellen, protagonizaron un curioso gag en el que tejían juntos ropa navideña, como gorros o jerséis. En 2022, Björn y Ian volvieron a sentarse juntos en el sofá para tejer y felicitar las fiestas a sus seguidores.

A punto de convertirse en una tradición navideña, como la canción de Mariah Carey, Björn y Ian se han vuelto a reunir en 2023. Y esta vez, han recibido una inesperada llamada, la de Kylie Minogue.

- Publicidad -

Kylie llama a Björn para pedirle un favor. «Estoy en Las Vegas, es Navidad… ¿Podrías improvisar algo para la banda, los bailarines y para mí? Lo que has estado haciendo últimamente es increíble». Björn contesta a Kylie que no puede hablar y promete que le llamará más tarde.

En redes, ABBA ha anunciado que «un pedido especial ha llegado este año para nuestro famoso dúo de tejedores. ¿Quién le diría que no a Kylie Minogue?» Ni Kylie ni ABBA confirman el motivo exacto de esta colaboración navideña. En el vídeo, Björn explica a Ian que Kylie le ha llamado para «hacer algo para el estreno de su show en Las Vegas», a pesar de que el show se inauguró hace semanas. Björn anuncia que viajará a Las Vegas para ayudar a Kylie y pide a Ian que le acompañe, y este acepta encantado.

Por supuesto, Kylie Minogue tiene su historia con ABBA, pues en el año 2000 cantó ‘Dancing Queen’ durante la ceremonia de inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos en Sídney. En 2009, Kylie apareció como artista invitada en el concierto tributo a ABBA celebrado en Londres, y cantó ‘When All is Said and Done’ de ABBA acompañada de Benny Andersson. Además, existe una foto de Kylie y Anni-Frid Lyngstad juntas y cogidas de la mano, pues ambas se conocieron hace años.

‘Voyage‘, el último álbum de estudio de ABBA, vio la luz en 2021, 40 años después del último. ‘Voyage’ contenía un tema navideño, ‘Little Things’, que era lanzado como single en diciembre de ese año. En mayo de 2022 se estrenaba el espectacular concierto de ABBA protagonizado por avatares digitales.

https://jenesaispop.com/2023/11/24/466494/kylie-abba-navidad/

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Message from Frida

 Message from Frida

To all my wonderful fans,

My heartfelt thanks for your kind

words, stories, giftes, birthday cards

etc, etc

But most of all, all the love pouresd over me on my birthday!

I am very spoiled and very greatful!

Björn in Slottsholmen, Västervik

 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz3nAKmodV_

Frida in Brighton, 1974

Lars Stenmark

 Today, the subject of ABBA's 50th Anniversary of the ESC-Victory with "Waterloo" in Brighton came up at work. When a colleague realized what a massive ABBA-fan I am, she said she wanted to share a little story with me. Of course I was all ears, as always, when ABBA is on the agenda.

She told me she vaguely, but fondly remembered that night in Brighton in April of 1974, when ABBA gave Sweden its very first victory. "Well, so did I and millions of others in front of the telly, I thought. What about..."

While continuing, she must have seen my jaws drop immediately as she said "I was there as a little girl" "In the audience with my mother" I thought "Get outta here!" and must have stopped breathing with my mouth half open.

Before I could utter anything, she continued "I was watching my dad, dressed as Napoleon" Now I just couldn't shut up so I burst out "No way! "Were you? Really?" "So, your dad was the great Sven-Olof Walldoff!!!" I said, feeling a bit starstruck myself.

The late Sven-Olof is one of Sweden's most accredited and renowned producers, musical arrangers, orchestra conductors, as well as composers and musicians of all times.

According to his daughter, he's the man behind one of the most famous, instantly recognizable signature sounds of any song in the history of pop music - the string arrangements in "Dancing Queen"! (news to me and unheard of before (!?) I've tried to find his name somewhere in the credentials for DQ to confirm that, but no luck to find a source so far. If anyone can confirm/deny that it would be appreciated)

Despite musical credits like that and having worked with almost everyone in the Swedish artist elite from the 1950's until the 1990's, Sven-Olof has remained somewhat of an unknown figure to the general public.

Few people know him by name or his credentials as a professional. However, almost everyone knows him by his appearance as Napoleon, both on stage in Brighton and on the "Waterloo'' album cover.

He collaborated with the biggest male and female singers and songwriters of the 60's &70's, including Agnetha & Frida in their pre-ABBA careers. He had his own Big Band Orchestra, which often toured the folkparks and local stages around Sweden - together with the biggest stars at the time. He was also part of the production of the "Ring, "Ring" album (string arranger) as well as two more ABBA-albums.

While my colleague continued to tell her story about that wonderful week she had with her family in Brighton almost 50 years ago, I felt bewitched and sat in complete silence (which is a very rare treat, as those who know me are well aware of...🤣🤣) as fascinated as a little boy listening to the storytelling of an extravagant Drag Queen.

It turned out she had been with her father during the rehearsals of "Waterloo" the whole week before the big final. Either in the spectator seat or backstage. She often sat backstage with A & F and others in the band. Sometimes just playing around with them, being silly. Other times she watched all the work and preparations they had to do before going onstage,

Her parents were personal friends with all four members of ABBA in the 1970's. She met them several times at many locations. Especially with Frida & Benny, who they saw regularly at each other's houses.

Amanda became particularly close to Frida, who used to baby-sit her from time to time. It almost felt like Frida took her in as 'one of her own'. There was always music, laughter and never a dull moment in their house, she remembers.

She was even allowed to enter Frida's huge closet and pretend she was a pop star as well. She used to 'perform' with Frida - standing shoulder by shoulder, back to back, facing the mirror, while lip-synching to "Mamma Mia" - pretending she was Agnetha.

Now, how many thousands of us fans all over the world did not spend parts of our childhoods doing the same thing over and over with our best friends?? In school, at home, at parties, probably at all places we could. Can you imagine doing the same thing with one of the real ABBA's!! 

This picture of Frida, (courtesy of Amanda Walldoff) which I asked for permission to use for this story, was taken by her outside of the Pavilion in Brighton the day after the victory. Little did Frida or Amanda know - what a superstar of gigantic proportions this young lady was about to become - loved, admired, respected and cherished by an entire music world - only a few years later.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1320176455108559/posts/1815769902215876/

Björn and Christina

 16 , 22 november

Björn with John Mellkvist

 Björn with John Mellkvist

Conversación inspiradora durante el almuerzo de hoy con Björn Ulvaeus. Hablamos sobre la creatividad y cómo se desarrolla con el tiempo, la colaboración entre generaciones, la edad sueca en comparación internacional, la edad de jubilación, la necesidad de una mayor flexibilidad en la vida laboral, así como una mejor representación de la edad tanto en la política como en las empresas, y mucho más.

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Inspirerande lunchsamtal idag med Björn Ulvaeus. Vi pratade om kreativitet och hur den utvecklas över tid, samarbete över generationsgränser, svensk ålderism i internationell jämförelse, pensionsålder, behovet av mer flexibilitet i arbetslivet liksom bättre åldersrepresentation både i politiken och på företagen – med mycket mera.

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bjorn2023 instagram

Björn ... the haircut as good as new...

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzofCMmIpBK/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzozmiHt2oT/

https://barbersofsweden.se

Björn...

 Kadirpresso Photography instagram

11 11 2023

The subtle melancholy of Abba provides me solace against the mean world

 https://www.theguardian.com/.../the-subtle-melancholy-of...

Article 2023

The subtle melancholy of Abba provides me solace against the mean world

As society has renewed its desire to be cruel, we turn inward to our comforts, looking for warmth

A few weeks ago, I moved out of the crumbling home I’d built for myself in a dilapidated Sydney sharehouse, and found myself living alone for the first time. The shock of being by myself was bruising. I walked around the rooms of my new home, idly picking things up and putting them down again. I was, quite suddenly, forced to confront something I’d long known, but tried to ignore – sometimes you have nowhere to turn but yourself.

I don’t think I’m alone in that reckoning. The vibes, as they say, are bad out there – the world appears to have renewed its desire to be cruel. And so many of us turn inward, seeking shelter, and instead finding, terrifyingly, us. Faced with that gnawing ache of self-reflection, unsure of what else to do, I put on the 2008 motion picture Mamma Mia!

We all have our comforts. Since I was a teenager, mine has been Abba. You don’t really encounter Abba for the first time. Trying to remember your first Abba song is like trying to pinpoint the moment you first felt the touch of another, or began to breathe. They’re sort of always there; an essential property of the universe. In 200 years’ time, when the last human guts another over a fight for clean water in a burning world, they’ll have Voulez-Vous stuck in their head.

What had sustained my love for the band was their clean, uncomplicated warmth. Songs like Does Your Mother Know are lab-grown to blot out every other thought in your head. You don’t listen to Abba, Abba happens to you, hooks laid down across the supple flesh of your brain until it’s flattened into a contented pancake.

But watching Mamma Mia, I was struck by something that I had perhaps known, in some instinctive way, but not actively realised – Abba are also very, very sad.

The scene that clicked it for me happens early in the film. Donna, played by Meryl Streep, peeks her head out of a trapdoor, and is confronted, shockingly, by three suitors from her past. They’re all older now, but in her mind’s eye, they haven’t changed – we see them as mustachioed, long-haired Lotharios. That quote from William Faulkner applies: “the past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

Donna starts to sing, belting out the film’s title track. “Here I go again”, she says, her voice vibrating with a barely suppressed hysteria. And there it was, something that had always been present, but had been obscured by the song’s everywhere quality: this, I realised, is a song about a woman who cannot help herself, who is being dragged, helplessly, by her desire, into the past. Why did F Scott Fitzgerald bother writing all those words about boats being beaten back by the current? He could have just written, “I suddenly lose control / there’s a fire within my soul.”

Indeed, if Abba has a thesis, it is this – that as human beings we are fragile, affected ceaselessly by forces inside us that we can neither comprehend or control. This can cause us great joy. One of life’s cleanest pleasures is being affected by another. But it can also cause us great pain. One of life’s cleanest sorrows is being affected by another.

Even the more upbeat songs, like the deliriously woozy I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do consider the terrible sacrifice of love; the way it locks us into patterns, the way it changes us.

“Love me or leave me, make your choice,” that song opens. And later, when the narrator asks if her beloved can feel it too, there’s an aching gap where the answer should be. It’s easy to imagine the song being sung to someone who has finally given into their own emotions and accepted they are in love too. But it’s just as easy to imagine that the addressee of the song will say “no”; that they will turn away. That what follows, when those last lurching notes ring out, is a parting, not an embrace.

Do not mistake me. I am not suggesting that next time Super Trouper comes on at karaoke I will necessarily break down into tears (though I might – like I say, things are pretty bad out there at the moment). I am merely suggesting that if the main activity of our lives is submitting, openly, nakedly, to one another – which I believe it is – then Abba know the sting of that submission better than most.

Art comforts us. Sometimes it does that through distraction – by turning our eyes away. But sometimes, it trains our attention. It focuses our eyes. It says, uncomplicatedly: this is the way the world feels to me, and I think it might feel that way to you too. It says: “So when you’re near me, darling / Can’t you hear me?”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/06/the-subtle-melancholy-of-abba-provides-me-solace-against-the-mean-world

Take a chance on AI, says Abba’s Björn

 

Björn has written an article about AI in music in financialtimes.

► https://www.ft.com/.../e4c43938-43d7-462b-bcff-70404fe44e5a

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzOLKL1I2DY

photo: Bjorn´s instagram

Post in Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/abbaregistro/posts/1391753988217787/

Take a chance on AI, says Abba’s Björn, but protect the musicians

My songwriting skills were ‘trained’ on Beatles tracks that I paid for. Tech tools should follow this principle

Björn Ulvaeus NOVEMBER 4 2023

Simply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox.

The writer is a member of Abba, founder of Pophouse Entertainment and president of CISAC

Expectations were sky-high. It was November 22 1968 when Benny Andersson carefully removed the plastic sleeve from The Beatles “White” album. We were in his small apartment in central Stockholm and we had just gone out and bought it. He placed it on the turntable and we listened reverently — to every note, every word, every instrument, every voice, every sound. We absorbed everything and when we had finished, we started again. As did millions of others around the world.

The Beatles inspired more young people to start writing songs than any other band in history. It is by listening again and again to the songs you love and admire that you learn. If one day you’re lucky enough to write a hit yourself, you can be certain that all those songs helped you along. They’ve been lingering in your subconscious in some form ever since you heard them for the first time. You could say that you’ve been “trained” by them.

If you actually then make a living as a songwriter you should humbly acknowledge that you stand on the shoulders of others. Apart from admiration and gratitude, in monetary terms what the Beatles got from me were royalties from the records I bought. But now there’s another kind of songwriter in town, even more keen on learning. Deep learning. With a neural network loosely imitating mine but not quite there yet.

Already, a few artificial intelligence models can generate music prompted by paragraphs of text and they’re getting more and more advanced. I was introduced to YouTube’s Music AI Incubator recently and was blown away. Mostly, it was astonishing for what it will be capable of in the future — and it made me realise how urgent finding answers to the emerging rights issues now is. How should original creators be properly remunerated for use of their works to train AI? Should creators have the right to refuse? Who, if anyone, owns the AI output?

The AI model has usually been trained on a multitude of individual works, each consisting of many different parts: sound, style, genre, voice, instrumentation, melody, lyrics and more. Some parts are better protected by copyright law than others. For instance, it is not clear whether a celebrated singer, their voice recreated by AI, can control or prevent the exploitation of works which use that recreation.

Protecting song rights (melody and lyrics) needs urgent attention. In almost all cases, training an AI model on unlicensed material is copyright infringement — unless the user can argue that an exception applies. Such exceptions generally allow for non-commercial use: this is not going to be the case for a significant amount of AI music. Who, then, should own it?

Copyright is the creator’s right to prevent their work from being, or to allow it to be, copied. Since the output may not technically contain any of the material that was originally protected, we’re in uncharted territory. As an artist, I think the overarching principle here must be freedom of expression. This may be controversial, but I’m beginning to think we must be open to seeing the prompter, however simple the prompt, as the creator and therefore the author of the output.

Entirely computer-generated output should not, of course, receive copyright protection. But human input should be protected — and my view is that humans will be involved most of the time.

AI tools in the right hands could result in amazing new artistic expression and the creator should have as much freedom as possible. I almost imagine the technology as an extension of my mind, giving me access to a world beyond my own musical experiences. The creator should not be boxed in by complicated rules about how much AI they have used or having to declare exactly who they were inspired by.

Instead I imagine a user entering a series of prompts, trying different styles, inspired by various composers and lyricists, perhaps even using parts of the generated melody and the lyrics. (It’s important to understand that these aren’t copies, they are original compositions).

In tandem with the user’s own input, this process could result in a decent — or even great — song. So how do you assign a percentage to the various different contributions? Even if it was technically possible to trace the origins, the amount of metadata needed to administer payments would be staggering. When it comes to that, the music industry is in disarray as it is.

Possible remuneration solutions are everywhere. One idea is a subscription model. As a songwriter, I would contemplate letting the Incubator (and other AI models) train on my works if I could subscribe to a professional version — and if a portion of this subscription went back to the creative community through publishers and collecting societies. This is clearly doable and should be considered.

The change coming in music, as in society as a whole, is monumental. No one knows what lies ahead. The tech companies will push to monetise and scale AI models rapidly, even as we only begin to understand their uses. But we need original creators to be both protected and fairly remunerated.

Vemod undercover Jan Gradvall - ABBA

https://www.expressen.se/kultur/bocker/nu-avslojar-jan-gradvall--abbas-framgangsrecept

Ahora Jan Gradvall expone la receta del éxito de Abba

Publicado el 3 de noviembre de 2023 a las 05.45

En "Vemod undercover", el periodista musical Jan Gradvall se enfrenta al grupo sueco más famoso de todos los tiempos.

Essy Klingberg lee un libro sobre Abba que logra mostrar tanto su singularidad como la cultura popular que los moldeó.

Los conciertos de hologramas reflejan en cierto modo la esencia de Abbas: la banda regresa constantemente con nuevas formas y siempre ha combinado innovación y comercialismo.

Esto último significó que, durante los años 70, cuando la autenticidad era rampante, algunos los tildaban de pop chicle. Pero medio siglo después, la cabalgata de éxitos todavía resuena entre los oyentes de todo el mundo.

Cuando el periodista musical Jan Gradvall interpreta a Abba, se da cuenta de la seriedad del grupo. El título "Vemod undercover" no sólo captura la melancolía que se puede encontrar incluso en las canciones más bailables de la banda: un tema constante es la sensación de extrañeza de los perches. El carácter sueco destacó en el extranjero, el sonido pop internacional destacó en su país de origen.

Aún más divertido cuando te topas con una investigación tan educativa y precisa como la de Jan Gradvall.

Determinar cómo se hace una canción de éxito es casi imposible, sobre todo para la persona que la escribió. De todos los procesos artísticos, la composición de canciones es el más cercano a la alquimia. Por lo tanto, el periodismo musical a menudo se convierte en un difícil acto de equilibrio entre la fluidez y las matemáticas.

Aún más divertido cuando te topas con una investigación tan educativa y precisa como la de Jan Gradvall. ¡La música, la forma de arte invisible, de repente toma forma! Una y otra vez, tengo que dejar el libro para escuchar cómo se promocionan de nuevo algunas de las canciones más reproducidas en la historia mundial.

Como cuando Benny explica cómo el grupo de "Mamma mia" descifró el código de los arreglos que se repiten en muchos de sus grandes éxitos. Todos los instrumentos (la marimba, la guitarra, el bajo) añaden algo que se desvía de la melodía básica. Cada uno constituye su propia línea que forma un todo detallado.

Con gran alegría al contar historias, Gradvall describe cómo Abba se convirtió en el puente entre la música de las bandas de baile suecas y la música disco moderna. Entabla un estrecho diálogo con la historia de la música, desde las raíces del funk en la Nueva Orleans del siglo XIX hasta el surgimiento de la música disco. El principal mérito es cómo entrelaza esto con la cultura popular que dio forma a los abades.

Las letras de Abbas se equilibran en una frontera delicada. Es más importante cómo suena que lo que realmente se dice. Gradvall analiza cómo esto ejerce una atracción en muchos oyentes, mientras que tiene un efecto alienante en otros.

Para mí, mi pensamiento se dirige a la ópera: las letras son un medio para hacer volar la música, poblada de personajes de dramas cotidianos. Por la misma razón, Abba siempre parece estar a cierta distancia del oyente.

Que "Dinero, dinero, dinero" sea tendencia en Tiktok décadas después de su lanzamiento parece obvio.

Es agradable que el libro no dé realmente vida a los padres. Al igual que la música, "Vemod undercover" se detalla sin volverse privado. También hay muchos temas de puñaladas con figuras periféricas, mientras que las partes candentes, como la disputa de derechos entre la banda y el manager Stikkan Anderson, se tratan en unas pocas páginas. La fusión entre la composición de Benny, las letras de Björn, la soprano de Agnetha y la mezzosoprano de Anni-Frid se retrata con más detalle.

Yo mismo soy descendiente del movimiento progresivo que despidió a Abba, pero, únicamente por haber nacido después del renacimiento de la banda en los noventa, he sido inculcado en el conocimiento de Abba toda mi vida. De una manera misteriosa, continúan uniendo la historia y el mañana.

El grupo interpretó adictivas melodías de sintetizador mucho antes de que Avicii aprendiera su primera escala pentatónica. Que "Dinero, dinero, dinero" sea tendencia en Tiktok décadas después de su lanzamiento parece obvio.

La recuperación sigue una receta sencilla: tiempo más supervivencia.

JAN GRADVALL

tristeza encubierta

Albert Bonniers, 341 p.

Por Essy Klingberg

Jan Gradvall es empleado de Expressen, por lo que la reseña del libro la realiza Essy Klingberg, editora de Svenska Dagbladet.

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Nu blottar Jan Gradvall Abbas framgångsrecept

Abba Publicerad 3 nov 2023

I ”Vemod undercover” ger sig musikjournalisten Jan Gradvall i kast med Sveriges kändaste grupp genom tiderna.

Essy Klingberg läser en bok om Abba som lyckas visa på både deras särart och den folkhemskultur som formade dem.

Hologramkonserterna speglar på sätt och vis Abbas essens – bandet återkommer ständigt i nya skepnader, och har alltid förenat innovation och kommersialism.

Det sista gjorde att de, under det autenticitetsvurmande 70-talet, stämplades som tuggummipop av en del. Men ett halvt sekel senare väcker hitkavalkaden fortfarande genklang hos lyssnare världen över.

När musikjournalisten Jan Gradvall skildrar Abba tar han fasta på gruppens allvar. Titeln ”Vemod undercover” fångar inte bara den melankoli som finns även i bandets mest dansvänliga låtar: ett genomgående tema är abbornas känsla av outsiderskap. Svenskheten stack ut utomlands, det internationella popsoundet stack ut i hemlandet.

Desto roligare när man snubblar över en utredning så pedagogisk och exakt som Jan Gradvalls.

Att bena ut hur en hitlåt blir till är näst intill omöjligt, inte minst för den som själv skrivit den. Av alla konstnärliga processer är låtskrivande den som ligger närmast alkemi. Musikjournalistik blir därmed ofta en svår balansgång mellan fluffighet och matematik.

Desto roligare när man snubblar över en utredning så pedagogisk och exakt som Jan Gradvalls. Musik – den osynliga konstformen – får plötsligt konturer! Gång på gång behöver jag lägga ifrån mig boken för att höra några av världshistoriens mest spelade låtar förfrämligas på nytt.

Som när Benny förklarar hur gruppen med ”Mamma mia” knäckte koden till de arrangemang som återkommer i många av deras stora hits. Alla instrument – marimban, gitarren, basen – tillför något som avviker från grundmelodin. Var och en utgör en egen linje som bildar en detaljerad helhet.

Med stor berättarglädje skildrar Gradvall hur Abba blev bryggan mellan svensk dansbandsmusik och modern disko. Han går i tät dialog med musikhistorien, från funkens rötter i 1800-talets New Orleans till charterdiskons framväxt. Den främsta förtjänsten är hur han väver samman detta med den folkhemskultur som formade abborna.

Abbas texter balanserar på en känslig gräns. Det är viktigare hur det låter än vad som faktiskt sägs. Gradvall diskuterar hur detta utövar en dragningskraft på många lyssnare, medan det har en fjärmande effekt på andra.

Hos mig går tankarna till opera: låttexterna är ett medel som får musiken att lyfta, befolkade av figurer från vardagsdramer. Av samma anledning tycks Abba alltid befinna sig på visst avstånd från lyssnaren.

Att ”Money, money, money” trendar på Tiktok decennier efter att den släpptes känns självklart.

Att boken inte riktigt kommer abborna in på livet är kongenialt. Precis som musiken är ”Vemod undercover” detaljerad utan att bli privat. Här finns också många stickspår med perifera figurer, medan brännande partier – som rättighetsbråket mellan bandet och managern Stikkan Anderson – avhandlas på ett fåtal sidor. Mer ingående gestaltas legeringen mellan Bennys komposition, Björns texter, Agnethas sopran och Anni-Frids mezzosopran.

Själv är jag en ättling till den proggrörelse som avfärdade Abba, men har, enbart genom att födas post bandets nittiotals-renässans, drillats i Abba-kunskap hela livet. På ett mystiskt sätt fortsätter de binda samman historien och morgondagen.

Gruppen lade beroendeframkallande syntmelodier långt innan Avicii lärde sig sin första pentatoniska skala. Att ”Money, money, money” trendar på Tiktok decennier efter att den släpptes känns självklart.

Upprättelsen följer ett enkelt recept: tid plus överlevnad.

SAKPROSA

JAN GRADVALL

Vemod undercover

Albert Bonniers, 341 s.

Av Essy Klingberg

Jan Gradvall är medarbetare på Expressen, därför recenseras boken av Essy Klingberg, redaktör på Svenska Dagbladet.

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article2023 Jan Gradvall Vemod undercover