Abba

At 79, Michael B. Tretow—the quiet genius behind ABBA’s unmistakable sound—has passed away, leaving behind more than just reels of magnetic tape and platinum records. He leaves behind a legacy woven into the harmonies of millions of memories. For decades, he was the invisible hand shaping pop perfection, the man who turned studio walls into shimmering echoes of joy and longing. While the world often saw the faces of fame, Michael was the heartbeat behind the curtain—a technician, yes, but more so, a storyteller in sound. His passing marks the end of an era, not with a crash of cymbals, but with the soft fade-out of a perfect mix. And somewhere tonight, in a quiet room lit by reel-to-reel machines and faded gold discs, a final note lingers… clear, warm, and unmistakably his.

Long before heartbreak became a pop cliché, ABBA gave it a voice that was clear-eyed,...