Klaxons keyboardist James Righton reveals his role in forming ABBA reunion band

NME

James Righton, founding keyboardist of alt-rock outfit Klaxons, has revealed his role in helping ABBA form their ten-piece reunion band.

• READ MORE: ABBA are back – here’s 10 songs their “ABBAtars” must play live

Righton – who recently dropped a new single of his own, the Soulwax-assisted ‘Release Party’ – shared the tidbit on Instagram over the weekend, posting a photo of himself and ABBA member Benny Andersson working together in a Swedish studio.

“I had an incredible/fun/magical/surreal time helping Benny and Bjorn find the 10 piece band for the reunion,” he wrote in the photo’s caption. “I can safely say that the musicians chosen and the band that has been formed is the best group of musicians I’ve ever heard play together in a room. There is serious chemistry and vibe.”

Take a look at the post below:

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A post shared by James Righton (@james__righton)

ABBA made their monumental comeback last week, announcing a new album – ‘Voyage’, set for release on November 5 – and dropping the singles ‘I Still Have The Faith In You’ and ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’.

They also revealed a “revolutionary” concert experience dubbed ‘ABBA Voyage’, which will see a “digital” version of ABBA (not holograms) perform alongside a 10-piece live band. The run of shows will take place at the purpose-built, 3,000-capacity ABBA Arena at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, starting Friday May 27, 2022.

Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad have all been involved in motion-capturing themselves for the experience.

News of ABBA’s comeback album – which was first teased with the title ‘Voyage’ in August – comes after the band recently joined TikTok, and their greatest hits compilation, ‘ABBA: GOLD’, became the first album to spend 1,000 weeks in the UK charts.

ABBA’s return has been in the works since at least 2017, when they first announced plans for a virtual tour, then slated for 2019. When those plans were delayed in 2018, the band announced they would be sharing their first new tracks in 35 years that December. The two-song offering then expanded to five last year, before eventually becoming a full album.

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