No, ‘VR and AI’ aren’t the latest hot brostep DJs… That long-desired ABBA reunion isn’t quite happening yet, but the Swedish pop pioneers have announced an inventive new “digital experience” in partnership with Universal Music and manager Simon Fuller.
“I was imagining who would be my very first choice to work with on an extraordinary new virtual reality experience to capture the world’s imagination,” Fuller told Billboard.
“In a second, I thought it simply has to be ABBA… We are exploring a new technological world, with virtual reality and artificial intelligence at the forefront, that will allow us to create new forms of entertainment and content we couldn’t have previously imagined.”
So what is that new form? ABBA’s Benny Andersson described it as “a time machine that captures the essence of who we were – and are” but further details are being kept under wraps for now pending a further announcement in 2017 ahead of the actual tour / experience launching in 2018.
It sounds like a step on from previous hologram-based performances featuring dead stars, and seemingly tackles a fear expressed by ABBA in the past when asked about a reunion: that the experience of seeing the band perform now, in their late sixties and early seventies, might not match up to the anticipation of fans nostalgic for their 1970s heyday.
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