Life Comes Full Circle

7. The Magnetic Field

Saturday, 24th July 2021

Saturdays were not the same anymore for the four friends who knew each other for more than 50 years. Ever since they decided to record new music, the weekends were the ideal days to get together without getting interrupted by any doorbells from fans who innocently would try their luck to meet one of them — Benny. He was aware that it was risky if they moved their recording days to the ordinary working days in the week as they wanted to keep the project as private and secret as possible. The weekends became the best solution for them to "cook" peacefully their new album in 40 years.

Since the very first day at the studio, back in 2017 when they recorded two songs, they felt that they had never stopped. Everything fell back into place, the dynamic was still the same but reloaded with new energy and different ways of facing life as it is. It was like they had just blinked and the older them would have taken over to carry on with their work. So familiar yet challenging as the world began to live some unknown and uncertain periods. From empty streets to houses being the only places with life in it. These four friends despite their enormous experience never had the challenge of a pandemic.

When they came to a decision to record a new album, their plans had to pause brutally when the world was shutting down with new rules to isolate at home, avoid gatherings and have all the shops and offices to be shut down to avoid the spread of a deadly virus. The panic in the world had been installed. Just like everything outside Mono Music, they had to follow the new guidelines and close doors, not only it would be illegal to remain open but also be dangerous to them. They weren't 30 years old anymore... they were over 70. Taking health risks is no longer an option for them and their plans had been delayed.

Frida had to go back to Switzerland, where she was quarantined with Henry, her partner, in their luxurious apartment. Even if she loved to record music, for one part she was relieved to have some weeks off since she had a recent hip replacement and the recovery was taking longer than she had expected. But the quarantine extended and she was no longer happy to be home. Without Henry's support, her mental health would have taken a new turn to the darkest side, which she had fought for her whole life to always avoid stepping on those dangerous waters, even though she had failed certain times in that fight. To keep sane, she would sing at home, have Henry help her with physical therapy for her hip, read books just like she loved so much and casually FaceTiming her bandmate Agnetha.

Agnetha was at her farm in Ekerö, in the smaller house from her estate where she was sharing with her son Christian and his partner Isabelle, alongside her granddaughter Nike and her months-old grandson. They had moved in ever since Isabelle had Nike, Agnetha wanted to ensure that the new parents had all the support they needed and of course, she loved children, especially her grandkids. Being a grandmother was one of her favourite things and now, due to the circumstances of the world, she had all the time in the world to watch them grow and share her parenting skills with her son and daughter-in-law. Helping with the children was actually very time-consuming but Agnetha didn't mind it. Whenever she had some free time, she would watch films on Netflix and when her family would leave to go on a walk close to the water, she would play the piano by herself. Recording with ABBA stimulated her musical side once again and playing music was incredibly joyful. Not only that, but it helped her stay sane at home. Even if she enjoys staying at home, the feeling of being locked in was her worst fear and from now and then she would panic over the most minimal thing. She was scared of those thoughts coming back to her, the phobias taking over and now the nightmare of the virus threatening her health as well as from the people she loved the most. Maybe out of the four friends Agnetha was the one that was the most scared about it.

The most travelled ABBA member who was constantly working on several projects at the same time was Björn. With the lockdown, his routine had completely shifted from being always out and about to be minimised to a laptop screen. To his luck, he had a wonderful house surrounded by water and nature, two dogs and a cat, with the company of his wife. He found it cosy, but he missed the adrenaline of travelling and meeting different people, working in-site for new projects. But quickly he adapted his life to the new reality and tried to make the best out of it... sometimes a way too much. He'd fallen into being lazy to get dressed and delay doing things, just like he was on holiday. He'd spend days only wearing a robe, having snacks and reading books or watching movies. That drove his wife Lena crazy, she was not used to seeing him doing that for days straight and it worried her he was gonna become like this and maybe end up drinking again. Sometimes it would provoke arguments and some friction between them, which Björn was not happy about because the last time it happen and he was married to Agnetha, these types of things were one of the reasons why they ended up divorcing. He knew that Lena was right but he wished that he could do whatever he wanted sometimes. Despite these problems, his mind remained wanting to create new lyrics, work on exciting projects and do his duties such as doing interviews. Every time he was asked about the new ABBA songs, he wanted to spill all the tea about it but he was forbidden to open his mouth. It was no longer two songs and a hologram show, it was an album and a show that has never been done before. So he had to stay quiet even if he didn't want to.