Benny Andersson has always made music that feels bigger than a single song. For ABBA fans, his piano can bring back the glitter of a Saturday night, the hush before a favourite ballad, or that extraordinary feeling when a melody seems to know exactly what you are feeling. This guide to Benny Andersson projects is for anyone ready to follow that sound beyond the familiar records and into a remarkably rich body of work.
His career after, alongside and around ABBA is not a side note. It is a world of theatrical storytelling, Swedish musical tradition, elegant instrumental writing and songs made for voices that can fill a room. The best place to begin depends on what you love most about ABBA. Do you listen for the drama, the harmonies, the folk colours or the piano? Benny has a project waiting for each answer.
A guide to Benny Andersson projects begins at the piano
Even in ABBA’s grandest productions, Benny’s piano is often the emotional centre. It can be bright and rhythmic, as in the irresistible rush of “Dancing Queen”, or quietly devastating, as in “The Winner Takes It All”. His later work gives that instrument more room to speak, often without a singer guiding the listener towards a particular story.
The album Piano is a lovely first stop for fans who want to hear Benny’s melodies in their most intimate form. Familiar themes sit beside newer pieces, played with clarity rather than showiness. The arrangements do not try to recreate ABBA records at a reduced scale. Instead, they reveal how durable the writing is when the studio layers, vocal arrangements and pop production are gently set aside.
Listen closely to the pauses as well as the notes. Benny’s playing often has a feeling of conversation, as though one phrase is remembering something and the next is replying. These albums suit a quiet evening, a train journey, or any moment when you want the music to take you back without asking you to sing every word.
His earlier instrumental work, including November 1989, is also worth seeking out. It has a more reflective character, full of atmosphere and melodic turns that will feel warmly familiar to listeners who recognise his musical fingerprint. This is Benny without the bright lights, but never without warmth.
The musicals where Benny’s storytelling grew larger
If your favourite ABBA moments are “The Day Before You Came”, “The Visitors” or “I Let the Music Speak”, the theatre work may be where Benny’s wider world truly opens up. Together with Björn Ulvaeus, he has created stage musicals that allow songs to breathe across a full story, with characters, conflict and music that returns in new emotional colours.
Chess, written with Tim Rice, remains the obvious starting point. Its original concept album gave the world “The Winner Takes It All” style of emotional scale in a different setting, alongside enduring favourites such as “Anthem”, “I Know Him So Well” and “One Night in Bangkok”. The project has had many productions and revisions over the years, which can make it feel daunting at first. Start with the songs, rather than trying to solve every version of the plot.
What makes Chess so rewarding is its ambition. The music moves between intimate confession, political tension, grand ensemble scenes and pure pop instinct. Not every section is as immediate as an ABBA single, and that is part of its appeal. Give it time and the themes begin to connect.
Then there is Kristina från Duvemåla, one of Benny and Björn’s most cherished achievements in Sweden. Based on the story of emigrants leaving Sweden for America in the nineteenth century, it is moving, expansive and deeply rooted in human longing. The score asks for patience if you do not understand Swedish, yet the feeling carries through every language barrier. Here, Benny’s gift for melody meets a story about home, faith, loss and the hope of a different life.
For fans who enjoy discovering how Swedish culture runs through his work, Kristina is essential. It does not sound like ABBA, and it should not. But its emotional directness and melodic generosity come from the same creative heart.
Benny Anderssons Orkester and the joy of Swedish tradition
Benny Anderssons Orkester, often known simply as BAO, is where another side of his musical life comes alive. Formed in the early 2000s, the group draws on Swedish folk dance music, schlager, pop and the communal spirit of musicians playing for the pure pleasure of making a room come alive.
For listeners raised on ABBA’s polished recordings, BAO can be a delightful surprise. There are accordions, fiddles, dancing rhythms and melodies that seem built for summer gatherings rather than stadium spotlights. Yet Benny’s identity is unmistakable. The tunes are generous, the hooks arrive naturally and the arrangements are full of colour.
The group’s work often features singers Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg, both of whom bring enormous character to the material. Sjöholm’s voice can carry tenderness and force in the same phrase. Körberg, familiar to many from Chess, brings theatrical depth and a wonderfully lived-in quality. Their presence means BAO is not simply an instrumental folk project, although the instrumental passages are a huge part of the pleasure.
A gentle word of advice for English-speaking fans: do not wait for translations before you listen. In BAO, the language is part of the music, but rhythm, tone and melody do much of the storytelling. Let the sound lead first. The meaning will grow as you return.
Benny’s work with Orsa Spelmän offers an even more direct connection to Swedish traditional music. Klinga mina klockor is particularly significant, showing his affection for folk forms without treating them like museum pieces. The music feels lived in, celebratory and connected to place. It also helps explain why so many ABBA songs have a rhythmic lift or melodic turn that feels distinct from British or American pop.
How to choose your own listening path
There is no single correct route through Benny Andersson’s projects. The most satisfying approach is to follow your favourite ABBA feeling. Fans who treasure piano led ballads should begin with Piano and November 1989. Those drawn to drama, huge choruses and emotional storytelling should spend time with Chess before moving to Kristina från Duvemåla.
If you love the joyous momentum of “Does Your Mother Know”, “Voulez Vous” or “Summer Night City”, try BAO. You may not find the same disco production, but you will find rhythm, lift and a sense that music is meant to be shared. And if the sound of Sweden itself interests you, make room for Orsa Spelmän and the folk material.
It is tempting to search only for songs that sound most like ABBA. Sometimes that brings wonderful discoveries, especially in Benny’s melodic instincts and his love of a memorable chorus. But the greater reward comes when you let each project be itself. A musical needs space for narrative. A folk tune needs room to dance. A piano piece needs silence around it.
For many fans, these projects also change the way ABBA records sound. After hearing Benny’s folk influences, the rhythmic pulse of “Fernando” or “Tiger” may seem newly vivid. After Chess, the drama of “The Day Before You Came” can feel even more cinematic. After a piano album, an old favourite may reveal a small melodic detail you had never noticed before.
That is the real pleasure of following Benny Andersson beyond the hits. You are not leaving the ABBA world behind. You are hearing its foundations, its imagination and its many beautiful rooms. Put on one unfamiliar piece, let the music find its place, and share the moment with another fan who understands why one piano phrase can mean so much.
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