40 years on, ABBA warms hearts again
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
February 03, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2023
40 years on, ABBA warms hearts again

Glitz

Adiba Hayat
14 September, 2021, 01:00 pm
Last modified: 14 September, 2021, 03:06 pm

Related News

  • Top selling album of all time
  • Justin Bieber nears $200 mln deal to sell music rights
  • Porcupine Tree’s Closure/Continuation: When change and consistency coexist
  • Beyonce returns with new album 'Renaissance'
  • A new Year’s gift for The Weeknd fans

40 years on, ABBA warms hearts again

Adiba Hayat
14 September, 2021, 01:00 pm
Last modified: 14 September, 2021, 03:06 pm
4 members of ABBA. Photo: Collected
4 members of ABBA. Photo: Collected

World famous Swedish pop band ABBA recently announced the release of their first new album, "Voyage" after four decades of hiatus, which is one of the longest running hiatuses any major musical band has taken in the history of music. 

It is safe to say that the news of a new album by this beloved pop band took the world by storm and every ABBA lover in every corner of the world is gleaming with joy, breaking open emotional floodgates. 

Like the rest of the world, popular singers Fahmida Nabi and Samina Samina Chowdhury are also excited and eagerly waiting for the release of  the new ABBA album. The sister duo grew up listening to ABBA and later in life, they covered ABBA songs and also have a Bangla version of a popular ABBA song, "Chiquitita".

Talking about ABBA's comeback after 40 years, Fahmida Nabi shared her excitement with The Business Standard. She said, "It is amazing news; ABBA has a universal appeal and you can never say enough about such a legendary band."

"Their music, lyrics, popularity and stage persona, everything have memerised us over the years. The rhythm section of each song is like therapy for listeners worldwide."

"Their new album proves that musicians never get old. Whenever they come back from hiatus, they return with a surprise, which earns them more popularity." 

ABBA. Photo: Collected
ABBA. Photo: Collected

"Voyage" is scheduled to be released on 5 November but two of the 10 songs from the album have been making the rounds in ABBA's official YouTube channel for the last one week. One of them has even topped the charts in Sweden. The two new tracks suddenly have the world standing on its tippy-toes, trembling with anticipation. 

The first song, "I Still Have Faith In You," is an affectionate, stately and epic piano ballad portraying the bond shared between the four band members. This song was recorded in 2018. 

Anni-Frid Lyngstad's pitch-perfect vocals on the song sounded as soothing as it has ever had, even after 40 years. 

The lyrics "There was a reunion/Of heart and mind/The likes of which are rare and oh so hard to find" stands as an ode to the friendship between the four Abba members, and the bonds that have matured and survived despite heartbreaks. 

"We do have it in us/New spirit has arrived/The joy and the sorrow/We have a story/And it survived" - these lyrics perhaps pen down the emotion of a long-awaited reunion perfectly without going overboard. After all, it's the music we have been waiting for - the music that speaks of the friendship that has stood the test of time. 

Although this was a piano ballad, the synthesizers and orchestra harmonized with the chords of electric guitars and drum beats make it sound like softened butter on warm toast. And if music could feel like a cup of freshly brewed cup of coffee with a side of buttered toast, this song is it. 

The music video for "I Still Have Faith in You" features footage of the band during their former performing years. This video earned over a million views in its first three hours of release. 

The second track, "Don't Shut Me Down," is a mini-melodrama in the vein of the Abba classic 'The Day Before You Came', where a woman returns to her partner years after walking out.

The composition of "Don't Shut Me Down" is like a molecule of happiness and as melodious as Abba sounded 40 years ago. 

With guitars, keyboard, synthesizer and drums giving birth to a groovy, nostalgic tune, and the song's addictive bassline crafted to perfection, you will not be able to stop swaying your head to every stroke of the lead and rhythm guitars as the tempo bounces up and down.

"You asked me not to leave/Well here I am again/And I love you still" - these lyrics imply ABBA's comeback - a feat unimaged by everyone. Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang in their trademark stacked harmonies, making sure to send shivers down your spine.

Rightfully so, "Don't Shut Me Down" became the first ABBA single since October 1978 to top a chart in Sweden.

Along with these two songs, "Voyage" will include "a little Christmas tune", according to Benny Andersson.

ABBA, one of the most successful pop bands of all time, did not only make a comeback, they made a dramatic comeback. Given the fact that it has been 40 years since the world saw the quartet perform, the dramatics are well justified.

On 26 August, a new website was launched titled, 'ABBA Voyage' where visitors were prompted to subscribe "to be the first in line to hear more about ABBA Voyage." 

New ABBA Voyage social media accounts were launched as well, and billboards started to appear around London - all showing the date '02.09.21'.

Three days later, ABBA officially joined TikTok with a video of Benny playing 'Dancing Queen' on the piano. On this day, the release of "Voyage" on 5 November was announced, along with ABBA Voyage, a residence show in London featuring the motion capture digital avatars of the four band members alongside a 10-piece live band, starting in May 2022.

 

Top News

ABBA / ABBA VOYAGE / Swedish band / music album

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • International Monetary Fund logo : AP via UNB
    IMF sets time-bound reform agenda as it releases first tranche of loan
  • Shipped Bhola gas to cost higher, yet cheaper than spot LNG
    Shipped Bhola gas to cost higher, yet cheaper than spot LNG
  • The trio spearheading the revival of book cover designs
    The trio spearheading the revival of book cover designs

MOST VIEWED

  • Marilyn Monroe. Photo: Collected
    Marilyn Monroe: An actress more than just a sex symbol
  • Top YouTube Movie Channels. Photo: Collected
    Top YouTube movie channels to watch full length movies online free
  • Masha Islam. Photo: Courtesy
    MASHA ISLAM The girl with the gifted voice
  • Miracle in Cell No. 7: Heartwarming Story inside a Prison Cell
    Miracle in Cell No. 7: Heartwarming Story inside a Prison Cell
  • Janowar poster. Photo: Collected
    Janowar: Portraying the real-life horror on screen
  • Cheeni movie. Photo: Collected
    Cheeni: A bittersweet story of a mother and a daughter

Related News

  • Top selling album of all time
  • Justin Bieber nears $200 mln deal to sell music rights
  • Porcupine Tree’s Closure/Continuation: When change and consistency coexist
  • Beyonce returns with new album 'Renaissance'
  • A new Year’s gift for The Weeknd fans

Features

The trio spearheading the revival of book cover designs

The trio spearheading the revival of book cover designs

1h | Panorama
Six Jeep Wranglers and a special XJ Jeep Cherokee set out into the depths of Lalakhal, Sylhet for an experience of a lifetime. Photo: Ahbaar Mohammad

Jeep Life Bangladesh: A club for Jeep owners to harness the power of their vehicles

23h | Wheels
While the Padma bridge in operation is changing the lives of millions in the south for the better, passenger rush to Shimulia ghat died down. Photo: Masum Billah

How are the Shimulia ghat businesses faring after Padma bridge?

1d | Panorama
After so many investments going embarrassingly wrong, as was the case with Sam Bankman-Fried, perhaps tech investors’ preference for less experience will wane. Photo: Bloomberg

Are you the next Steve Jobs? Good luck raising money in 2023

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

A proper price formula can help investors to plan big

A proper price formula can help investors to plan big

15h | TBS Round Table
Rumors about Sarika that everyone thinks are true

Rumors about Sarika that everyone thinks are true

13h | TBS Entertainment
Mugging rife in Tejgaon, murder in Wari

Mugging rife in Tejgaon, murder in Wari

16h | TBS Current Affairs
What secrets are hidden behind Adani's wealth?

What secrets are hidden behind Adani's wealth?

14h | TBS Stories

Most Read

1
Bapex calls candidates for job test 9 years after advert!
Bangladesh

Bapex calls candidates for job test 9 years after advert!

2
Leepu realised his love for cars from a young age and for the last 40 years, he has transformed, designed and customised hundreds of cars. Photo: Collected
Panorama

'I am not crazy about cars anymore': Nizamuddin Awlia Leepu

3
Photo: Collected
Energy

8 Ctg power plants out of production

4
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
Economy

IMF approves $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh, calls for ambitious reforms

5
Photo: Collected
Court

Japanese mother gets guardianship of daughters, free to leave country

6
Fund cut as Dhaka's fast-track transit projects on slow spending lane
Infrastructure

Fund cut as Dhaka's fast-track transit projects on slow spending lane

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]