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FYI

Abba's Benny Andersson On Songwriting

So many songs are now written by committee, and I don’t understand how that works because for me a song starts with melody combined with chords.

Abba's Benny Andersson On Songwriting

By External Source

Who are your favourite songwriters from any era?


Well if we extend it to include composers, it is Johan Sebastian Bach at number one – and then comes nothing for a long time. Then people like Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, Lennon and McCartney, of course, Brian Wilson, one of my heroes, Ray Davies, Tony Hatch. I won’t be able to remember all the names. And I like the work of [fellow Swede] Max Martin; he knows what he’s doing.

But, so many songs are now written by committee, and I don’t understand how that works because for me a song starts with melody combined with chords. I arrange the song, with bass and drums, after the song is finished, not the other way around. If I start with the drums and the bass and then add some chords, randomly, and then try to write a melody… I don’t know how that works; I don’t get it.

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What that lacks, I think, is a ‘sender’. If someone likes my music, that’s me; it’s me sending it to you. If there are seven people behind it, are they all honest? Do they all mean it?

Benny Andersson, the founding member of Abba, in an interview published by Music Business Worldwide

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The Halluci Nation
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The Halluci Nation

Concerts

The Halluci Nation Headline Tkaronto Music Festival's 2024 Lineup Of Indigenous Artists

The event, running at Toronto's TD Music Hall, Nov. 7-9, also features Blue Moon Marquee, Sebastian Gaskin and a mystery headliner.

After a successful 2023 event, Tkaronto Music Festival returns in 2024, celebrating Indigenous musical excellence with three nights of live music, November 7-9, at the TD Music Hall inside Massey Hall in Toronto.

Tkaronto Music Festival(#TKMF2024)is described as Turtle Island’s premiere music festival putting the spotlight on Indigenous talent, and the just-revealed 2024 lineup is an impressive and diverse one.

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