ABBA Return With Their Revolutionary Concert “Voyage”
It might feel surreal for some, appaling for others, but what we can surely say about the new ABBA concert “Voyage” is that it’s breathtakingly revolutionary! I’m sure no one has ever been to a concert before where digital replicates (Avatars or “Abbatars”) were performing instead of the real artists.
“Voyager” begun its journey on May 26th, at the, specially designed for the concert, ABBA Arena, in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford. It was truly a not-to-be-missed spectacle as not only did the audience experience the use of this immersive technology, but it was also the first time ABBA made a public appearance as a group in 36 years.
The artists commented on their unique project, saying that “Really looking forward to seeing the show again. I’ve seen it once on Monday evening, and it’s just that feeling, you want to see it again and again because there are so many details you can’t comprehend by just seeing it once” (Anni-Frid Lyngstad), reffering to the show’s technological advancements. Also mentioned the primal reason the band got back together after so many years, and it couldn’t be anything else than new music: “When we decided to do this project, we thought maybe we should have a couple of new songs in the show”, highlighting that music has always been their main concern in everything they put their minds on.
Even though the technology behing this and the work everyone has done behind the scenes to realise this project is beyond words the fans had mixed views; Others loved this futuristic celebration: “I’m struggling to put into words how good ABBA Voyage concert was in their purpose-built stadium in Stratford- emotional and nostalgic, using such advanced technology, astounding!”, whereas others questioned the show’s authenticity, expressing that it lacked the energy of a “real concert” and the artist-fans live relationship.
What are your views on this and do you think that avatars or holograms can completely replace the artists, without missing the liveness and authenticity of the live performances as we know them?
More on the “VOYAGE” concert:
Original Source: NME
