Happy New Year was not intended to be ABBA's swan song but everything leading up to the single, the divorce of Benny and Frida, signified the end of their sentimental partnership. Listening to this song reminds me of a pitiful overweight Elvis belting out Unchained Melody as his final hurrah as every superfan realized that good things do come to an end.

ABBA- Happy New Year

-John

This is the Touch 25th anniversary edition CD, celebrating the conception and first release from Touch with exclusive tracks from: Oren Ambarchi, Biosphere, Fennesz, Bruce Gilbert, Ryoji Ikeda, Philip Jeck, Johann Johannsson, Jacob Kirkegaard, Mother Tongue, BJNilsen, Pan Sonic, Rosy Parlane, Peter Rehberg, Rafael Toral, Mark Van Hoen, Chris Watson. There are also several insert recordings and a live edit from Hild Sofie Tafjord & Tanja Orning. Touch was conceived by Jon Wozencroft in 1981, and released its first cassette magazine Feature Mist in 1982, and since then, the label has become one of the key touchstones in captivating, intelligent electronic music worldwide. Most artists on this compilation have made a special recording for this CD as a sort of "declaration of intent," envisioning future-music 25 years down the line, using elements from the past. As Wozencroft himself states, "What seems to have taken place, is a sequence of 25 tracks (in itself an accident of numbers) that each in their own space are quite obscure and 'of a refined sense of taste,' but together, build a very emotional journey through the emotional conditions brought on by the lack of emotion in everyday life, and its replacement by extremities." Biosphere reconnects to nature with a proliferation of birds, Pan Sonic and Ryoji Ikeda condense their approach into two five-minute pieces that make you appreciate their past excursions, and Chris Watson presents two recordings based on transportation conditions on water and railway, which connect more obviously to his roots in Cabaret Voltaire than his wildlife sound recordings, but end up re-energizing both. Bruce Gilbert has made a spoken-word story that contains his finest guitar playing to date, and Rafael Toral plays his piece with a data glove. Wozencroft himself contributes a recording he made in 1984 of the plumbing system in his old apartment, as well as a recording of an air traffic control deadzone over Siberia that was recorded in the cockpit of a 747. Touch 25 is the sound of future life.

-from Tonevendor.com

Here are 2 selections:

Johann Johannsson - Tu Non Mi Perderai Mai

Pan Sonic - Slovakian Rauta

-David