ABBA will be returning to the stage. Albeit in digital form, as part of a new VR experience spearheaded by the Swedish pop icons themselves, UMG and XIX Entertainment founder and CEO Simon Fuller.
The three parties are working together on a new VR show that will offer ‘an original entertainment experience’.
The members of ABBA will be involved throughout the creative process.
Benny Andersson said: “We’re inspired by the limitless possibilities of what the future holds and are loving being a part of creating something new and dramatic here. A time machine that captures the essence of who we were. And are.”
Frida Lyngstad added: “Our fans around the world are always asking us to reform and so I hope this new Abba creation will excite them as much as it excites me.”
"The creativity and ideas flowing from the members of ABBA over the past few months have filled me with great excitement,” said Fuller. “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.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, stated: “Having the privilege of working closely with the band for over two decades, I can comfortably say there are few recording artists who like ABBA bring together their mastery of craft, a high level of professionalism and enormous commercial success. I’m thrilled to be involved in this innovative new project that will introduce the band who are responsible for some of the greatest songs and melodies in pop music to a new generation of fans.”
Further details of this pioneering collaboration to be announced in 2017.
The announcement marks the second move into the world of VR experience in as many days. Yesterday it was revealed that the company had teamed up with Capitol Records, VRLive and US rock outfit Avenged Sevenfold to present a ground-breaking global 3D, 360-degrees, live-streamed virtual reality performance on Thursday, October 27.
