Mamma Mia! ABBA announces first new album in 40 years, plus “digital avatar” concert experience for 2022

ABBA in 2021, in motion-capture suits/Credit: Baillie Walsh

All you dancing queens — and kings — get ready to feel the beat, because ABBA is officially back.

The group will release their first new album in 40 years, Voyage, November 5. Two songs from the record — “I Still Have Faith In You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down” — are available now.

The new music was created in tandem with a concert experience which will see digital avatars of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid performing digitally with a live 10-piece band, in a purpose-built, 3,000-person capacity arena in London. The video for “I Still Have Faith In You” gives you your first look at those avatars, which perform the song.

The digital avatars were created by months of motion capture of the four band members by an 850-person team at top special effects company Industrial Light & Magic.

The Voyage shows premiere May 27, 2022, with pre-registration for tickets starting at 6 p.m. tonight at ABBAVoyage.com. If you pre-register, you can get tickets starting at 10 a.m. September 6; the general public on sale date is 10 a.m. September 7.

ABBA’s Benny says of the concert experience, “We’re truly sailing in uncharted waters. With the help of our younger selves, we travel into the future. It’s not easy to explain but then it hasn’t been done before.” Of the new music, he says, “I think hearing Frida and Agnetha singing again is hard to beat.”

Anni-Frid, aka Frida, adds, “Such joy it was to work with the group again. I am so happy with what we have made, and I dearly hope our fans feel the same.”

Agnetha says, “I can hardly believe that finally, the moment has come to share this with the world!”

Björn declares, “The Voyage project has injected new life into us in more ways than one. So, again, thanks for waiting!…It’s not an exaggeration to say that we’re back.”