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!

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

Jan Gradvall - Vemod Undercover

 El periodista musical Jan Gradvall publica un libro sobre Abba. El libro se publicará en octubre.

https://gamlastansbokhandel.se/events/vemod-undercover-jan-gradvall-om-nya-boken-om-abba

Martes 24/10 a las. 17:00 a 18:00 Jan Gradvall en una conversación sobre Vemod encubierto: el libro sobre Abba.

“Incluso las canciones más felices son básicamente melancólicas. Hicimos melancolía encubierta." Benny Andersson

Nos encontramos con Abba descubierto, más allá de los disfraces y las leyendas penetradas. Es un libro que permite que los detalles, en música, en el destino humano, en los tiempos contemporáneos, expliquen el todo, desde los primeros pasos de la banda como algo así como un supergrupo sueco a principios de la década de 1970, hasta la última grabación.

Vemod encubierto es un mosaico de historias únicas sobre Abba, pero sobre todo una declaración de amor desenmascarada, firmada por uno de los principales periodistas musicales de Suecia, que nos hace ver a la banda y el tiempo con nuevos ojos.

Jan Gradvall, nacido en 1963, es uno de los principales periodistas de Suecia en la cultura popular. Cuando recibió el Gran Premio del Club de Publicidad en mayo de 2013, la motivación decía: “Del coro de gansos de Jörvar a Dagens Industri, de Celine Dion a Louis-Ferdinand Céline; pocos periodistas culturales son tan amplios en el mejor sentido de la palabra. Libre de prejuicios de género, ha descrito con confianza durante más de tres décadas todo lo que hace que la vida sea interesante, ya sea creado por la estufa, en el estudio de grabación, en la fábrica de televisión o en el escritorio. Una fiebre ejemplar continúa Jan Gradvall para causar una impresión duradera en la vida cultural."

One year on, how avatar concert ABBA Voyage is powering the group's classic catalogue

 One year on, how avatar concert ABBA Voyage is powering the group's classic catalogue

by Andre Paine

June 28th 2023 at 9:44AM

Catalogue is one of the most exciting areas of the music industry in 2023, as platforms open up new opportunities for classic repertoire.

Given how competitive the business of classic songs has become, the win for ABBA and Universal Music Recordings/Polar Music in the Catalogue Marketing category at the Music Week Awards 2023 was an impressive result.

The Swedish superstars are, of course, a streaming perennial. But they also have a significant shop window in the form of ABBA Voyage, the digital avatar show at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park that has now passed one million visitors since launching in May 2022. It is open for bookings until May 2024.

“ABBA are doing something unique at the moment with the Voyage concert,” said Chris Dashwood, marketing director, Universal Music Recordings. “I think that's really captured the imagination of people, and we've used that opportunity for the catalogue.”

ABBA were recently recognised for passing a billion streams in the UK alone.

ABBA’s Gold greatest hits was the 10th biggest album of 2022 with sales last year of 197,843 (Official Charts Company). So far in 2023, the collection has registered a further 111,123 chart sales (97,471 from streams). Consumption is 28.2% ahead of the 86,691 registered for ABBA Gold at the same point in 2022. The album is maintaining its streaming with a No.11 position in the year-to-date albums rankings.

“The music has reached a lot of people that it hadn't reached before,” said Dashwood. “When you go and see the show, there are so many young people, so many children and so many people that are discovering ABBA for the first time. So it's then marrying up that enthusiasm with the catalogue music that we have, which is just golden.”

Dashwood said ABBA are “right at the top” when it comes to classic catalogue. The Gold collection has spent most of this year inside the Top 20, including four weeks in the Top 10.

“It’s what people are consuming, the charts don’t lie,” he said.

With merch and music available at the Voyage concert, physical sales are also strong. Box sets and limited edition vinyl was released for the residency. The Gold collection alone has moved 10,000 units this year, 31 years on from its original release. Meanwhile, 2021’s comeback album Voyage is on 474,955 sales.

As well as developing the ABBA Voyage concert of greatest hits, the original members take a close interest in their catalogue campaign. 

Creative agency Yes Please Productions were commissioned to create new videos for 20 tracks.

“They [ABBA] are involved in everything we do, they need to approve and see everything we do,” said Mia Segolsson, general manager for Polar Music in Sweden. “It's really great to see the videos coming up again, and so many more people seeing them right now. So this [Music Week Award] is really great, they’re so pleased.”

“Yes Please Productions produced and provided the creative direction for all 20 lyric videos for the ABBA Gold campaign,” said creative director Lucy Dawkins. “We oversaw every aspect of the videos, from initial conception through to the delivery, creating fresh interpretations of their biggest hits. 

“We thoroughly enjoyed delving into the world of ABBA to make these videos. Researching each track, and the fashion and musical influences on the band at the time they were written, were all considerations when creating concepts for each track. We’re delighted that the loyal ABBA fan base have responded so positively to the series and that a whole new generation of fans are enjoying these classic tracks.”

The catalogue campaign will continue with a huge anniversary in 2024 – 50 years of Waterloo, which won ABBA the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.

“It’s a huge moment for ABBA, so next year is going to be bigger than this year probably,” said Dashwood.

Click here for all the Music Week Awards winners.

https://www.musicweek.com/labels/read/one-year-on-how-avatar-concert-abba-voyage-is-powering-the-group-s-classic-catalogue/088129

Bjorn and Benny interview with Victoria Derbyshire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhhzSTd6API

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ABBA: THEIR ‘70S SELVES

 THE RISE OF VR/AR/VFXAND LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Jim Sullivan — 

VR/AR/MR Trends

June 01

2023

ABBA seen on a massive LED screen. The de-aged avatars were created by ILM in a project that took over five years. (Image courtesy of ILM and ABBA)

In one breakthrough after another, AR, VR and VFX are augmenting live entertainment, from ABBA’s avatars to XR concerts to Madonna dancing live on stage with her digital selves.

ABBA: THEIR ‘70S SELVES

When the Swedish group ABBA returned to the stage last May after a 40-year hiatus, they did so digitally with the help of ILM. The foursome – Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog – appeared in ABBA Voyage via their de-aged digital avatars, virtual versions of themselves on huge screens in the purpose-built, 3,000-capacity ABBA Arena, which was constructed in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. (ABBA Voyage won the 21st Annual VES Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project.)

ABBA’s 20-song “virtual live show,” over five years in the making, is a hybrid creation: pre-recorded avatars appear on stage with a physically present 10-piece band to make the experience more lifelike and convincing. The avatars meld the band’s current-day movements with their appearances in the 1970s.

ILM supplied the VFX magic, with more than 1,000 total visual effects artists in four studios working on the project, according to the show’s spokespersons. ILM Creative Director and Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Morris oversaw the VFX of the show, which was directed by music-video veteran Baillie Walsh.

First, Morris and his team scanned thousands of original 35mm negatives and hours of old 16mm and 35mm concert footage and TV appearances of the band. The supergroup quartet spent five weeks singing and dancing in motion-capture suits as ILM scanned their bodies and faces with 160 cameras at a movie studio in Stockholm. The same process was undertaken with younger body doubles, who followed their moves, guided by choreographer Wayne McGregor, and whose movements were blended with those of ABBA to give the band more youthful movements.

The digital versions of ABBA appear on the stage and to the sides of the arena on towering ROE Black Pearl BP2V2 LED walls, powered by Brompton Tessera SX40 4K LED processors. Each screen is 19 panels high, and there are an additional 4,200 ROE LED strips in and around the area. Solotech supplied the LED walls. Five hundred moving lights and 291 speakers connect what is on the screens to the arena. The result is spectacular and suggests that many large-scale digital shows may be on the way for music stars who are getting old or simply don’t like touring.

ABBA avatars on stage in lower center. The show’s elaborate lighting and live musicians help bring ABBA’s music to life. (Image courtesy of ILM and ABBA)

VIRTUAL TUPAC, VIRTUAL VINCE

Digital Domain created digital representations of the rap star Tupac Shakur and legendary Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi in 2012 and 2021, respectively, which raised the visual-quality bar for virtual appearances projected live.

On April 15, 2012, at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California, Tupac Shakur appeared in a CGI incarnation on stage at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, California. The virtual Tupac sang his posthumous hit “Hail Mary” plus a “duet” of “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” with Snoop Dogg, who was on stage, in the flesh.

The computer-generated realistic image of Shakur was shown to some 90,000 fans on each of two nights; YouTube videos of the event reached 15 million views, according to Digital Domain. Some called it the “Tupac Hologram” – it wasn’t a hologram, but it was 3D-like. Unlike ABBA Voyage (2022), which featured the participation of the band in creating the group’s avatars, the Shakur on stage was created long after the singer’s death in 1996. The project took about two months to complete, with 20 artists of different disciplines, according to Digital Domain’s Aruna Inversin, Creative Director and VFX Supervisor. The virtual Tupac was the vision of Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, and Digital Domain created the visual effects content. AV Concepts, and an audio-visual services and immersive technology solutions provider, handled the projection technology.

The digital versions of ABBA appear on the stage and to the sides of the arena on towering ROE Black Pearl BP2V2 LED screens powered by Brompton Tessera SX40 4K LED processors. (Image courtesy of ILM and ABBA)

Silhouettes of Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog – whose virtual versions appear on huge screens in the purpose-built 3,000-capacity ABBA Arena in London. (Image courtesy of ILM and ABBA)

https://www.vfxvoice.com/the-rise-of-vr-ar-vfx-and-live-entertainment

ABBA VOYAGE 1-Year Anniversary

 

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Steve Jacks video

Photo ABBA Voyage

video ABBA Voyage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bed5oIYHRUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UARb-wGA0U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQxRpo3laLA

abba Voyage phot0

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photo on twitter 

@Anjay89006318

before  Concert

 photo on Twitter @KaarinG

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abba voyage photos

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photo Richard Mustonen-smith 

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may 27th, 2023

Photo Mark Simons...

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Photo Svana Gisla

update photo 28 05 2023

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Photo ABBA Voyage

Photo ABBA Voyage

Photo ABBA Voyage

Photo ABBA Voyage

Photo ABBA Voyage

Photo ABBA Voyage

foto abbaregistro

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ABBATARS

Photo ABBA Voyage

Photo ABBA Voyage

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 30 May 2023 11:31 AM

Björn Ulvaeus on one year of ABBA Voyage: ‘It’s blown my mind!’

Voulez-Vous! To mark a year since ABBA Voyage first launched in East London, Björn Ulvaeus sits down to tell Rolling Stone UK all about the journey so far.

By Nick Reilly



Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA (Picture: Alamy)

As ABBA celebrate the one year anniversary of their game-changing Voyage show, Björn Ulvaeus has opened up to Rolling Stone UK about the show’s huge success, and how game-changing developments in technology could allow it to evolve and adapt long into the future.

Ulvaeus and bandmates Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were all in attendance at East London’s ABBA Arena last Saturday (May 27th), to mark a year since the show’s arrival – which was first hailed by Rolling Stone UK as a ‘jaw dropping spectacle’.

The pioneering performance sees audiences greeted by CGI representations (ABBA-tars) of the Swedish pop icons, which are based on their motion-tracked movements. They are presented to appear like a representation of the group in their ’70s pomp, with their performance backed by a live band that is present in the room every night.

The show’s huge success has now allowed fans to dream that a legion of classic bands could rise from the musical graveyard once again – even if Björn believes it’s not quite that simple.

“I am pretty sure that among my contemporaries, a lot of people are talking about it,” he tells Rolling Stone UK.

“They’re wondering if they can do something like this and so I am really curious to see who comes next and what they can come up with, because it’s just too expensive to do a copy of it. You need to do something unique and it’s going to be so exciting to see who will come next.”

You can read our full Q&A with Björn below, as he waxes lyrical on the future of Voyage, AI and 50 years of Eurovision.

Hi, Bjorn! How are things?

I feel good! The summer has come to Stockholm. As usual, we didn’t have a spring, it just turned to summer and it’s a great feeling. I feel good.

All the more reason to celebrate, given that ABBA Voyage has passed the one year milestone and played to over a million visitors. How has the last year been for you?

It’s been a success beyond, you know, everyone’s expectations and it’s had such impact too, because it’s such a technological milestone. Everybody says that the technology could change live music and I guess it certainly has done something to the image of ABBA. I think we’re in the front of trying to do new daring things and I think that’s good.

When you split back in 1982, did you ever envisage getting to the point where there’s a digital version of yourself performing to thousands every night?



Of course not! Back in 1982 I had just bought my first IBM PC and there was no internet, there was nothing. We had 64K RAM and that was about it. At that point I thought that ABBA might come back together and do a new album maybe, but that never happened. What’s happened to us now is just mind-boggling.

Where does the success of Voyage rank in all the endless highs and success that you’ve experienced with ABBA?

It’s very difficult to compare because somehow, for some reason, ABBA seems to have become and remained part of the fabric of popular culture through these years. So when this happened, it was a result of that fact. That so many people have found some kind of relation to our music. Everyone knows that we haven’t been around for 40 years, but the fact that people have kept listening to us is why we’ve been able to do this, and it makes it very emotional for people have seen it. It’s the enduring influence of it.

Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson of ABBA joined by ABBA Voyage producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson, and Director Baillie Walsh (Picture: Press)

How gratifying is it to still be held in such high regard?

It’s been amazing because people used to come up for me and ask for photos because of their mother and grandmother. Nowadays, it’s completely changed. It’s parents asking for selfies because they’re telling me that their daughters won’t believe it.

We were from an era when so many bands were around and a few of them are still relevant, it’s definitely not just us. But it’s still very humbling that it has turned out the way it is.

Eurovision mania seems to be sweeping Sweden once again after Loreen won in Liverpool earlier this month. Next year’s event will coincide with 50 years since ABBA won. Any chance you guys could appear?

It might come to Stockholm again, but I won’t say anything about us being involved. It’s a typical no comment.

Going back to ABBA Voyage, were you scared of what the public reaction might be?

When the previews started, we invited people from the area, from Stratford, who don’t necessarily have any relation to ABBA but they were invited because we really wanted to be part of the community.

So we invited a lot of them to come and have a look at the first previews and it was so reassuring because they were taken by it and they absolutely were not our fans. So that was great and that was such a relief when I saw that.

As for the future of the show, is there the potential to change it and offer a switched-up set for people that want to come back and have a slightly different experience?

Yes, definitely. We used motion capture on more songs than what we have in the show. So that’s a possibility. Artificial intelligence, too, is taking quantum leaps right now so we’re carefully watching that and seeing whether some of that could be applied to Voyage.

As a songwriter yourself, what do you make of the argument that AI could threaten the future of the craft and theoretically put writers out of work?

In the beginning, I think it will be a tool. I can sort of think of ways of using an AI, like if I was going to write a tango for a musical, I could conceivably train an AI on the 100 best tangos in the world as a starter and then ask the AI to write a tango, having trained from that set. And it could well come up with something that’s not bad and you could tweak it yourself, so that the AI has given you the initial idea. That’s entirely OK and a bit like using our brains, really.

But that’s the first ten years of it and there will come a time when the AI itself can write conceivably original stuff and stuff that people won’t know if it’s come from an AI. That is going to happen.

The most important thing right now with democracy at stake and other things is that we need to learn between AIs and humans so that whoever sends a message, there should be a little box somewhere to differentiate between the two. If that could be achieved, it would be a big help.

So it’s all about learning to adapt and see how we can use it for good?

Yeah. Because I thought about that the other day, when I grew up the music I listened to back then created some kind of database and training set inside me that my own AI is working on and whenever I try to come up with something it is based on that training set of data that I have inside and have collected through the years.

Similarly, you can use an AI like that and some wonderful songs and other pieces might come from it!

Does that optimism almost explain how ABBA Voyage came to be? Are you always seeking out interesting innovations and technologies within music?

When we started recording albums with ABBA, the Beatles were our big idols and they always took daring steps, album by albums. They tried new things, not tech of course, but other new sounds. We wanted to be daring and take the next step, so yes, Voyage is part of that mindset that, that curiosity about what you actually can do when you challenge yourself.

The visitor numbers speak for themselves too, you recently personally greeted the one millionth visitor to Voyage. Have any other artists told you they want to do a similar thing now? one million visitors.

No, I haven’t spoken to anyone but I understand that there have been, you know, people my age, who have seen the show. I know that Barry Gibb was there, for instance, and other people have been there as well.

Mick Jagger spoke about Voyage at a concert in Stockholm recently too. So I am pretty sure that among my contemporaries, a lot of people are talking about it. They’re wondering if they can do something like this and so I am really curious to see who comes next and what they can come up with, because it’s just too expensive to do a copy of it. You need to do something unique and it’s going to be so exciting to see who will come next.

Baillie Walsh, who directed Voyage, recently said he believes it works so well because thankfully all four members of ABBA are still alive

That’s true, but I think technology is quickly making up for that. But there is another aspect of it, in that the ethics of it could affect its credibility. If you do something, you know, an avatar of someone who has been dead for a long time, then that credibility could well be in doubt.

I’m not saying necessarily that it will be, but of course it made it easier for us since we’re all still alive and everyone now knows that we are behind it.

Absolutely. Congratulations again Bjorn, here’s to the second year.

Yes! Thank you.

https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/news/bjorn-ulvaeus-one-year-of-abba-voyage-its-blown-my-mind-29655/