ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus has confirmed that fans of the Swedish pop sensations can expect a new song in “September or October.”
Speaking to Denmark’s Ekstra Bladet, Ulvaeus said that the new music “has been delayed for too long” as “it takes an extremely long time” to make a video featuring holographic avatars of the group.
The band unveiled plans to release two new tracks last April, following an earlier announcement that they would be embarking on a digital tour featuring virtual ‘Abbatars,’ allowing Ulvaeus and his bandmates Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad to appear as they did in their 70s heyday.
“The decision to go ahead with the exciting ABBA avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence,” a statement posted on the band’s official Instagram read.
“We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio. So we did.
“And it was like time had stood still and that we only had been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience!
“We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good,” the group concluded their statement.
At the time, the band promised that the music would be unveiled “in a TV special produced by NBC and the BBC” which was slated to air in December 2018, though they later confirmed that the release date had been pushed back until 2019.
The new tracks will be called I Still Have Faith In You and Don’t Shut Me Down, and are the group’s first releases in almost four decades.
In an interview with the Daily Star, Ulvaeus said that one of the tracks is “a pop tune, very danceable” while the other is “more timeless, more reflective.”
ABBA found international fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with Waterloo.
They went on to sell 400 million singles and albums worldwide, before eventually splitting in 1983.
