Kyabram-born journalist Joe Matera is returning to his roots to share the story of a global phenomenon.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
It’s not every day that Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus give a writer their blessing. But for Kyabram’s own Joe Matera, it’s just another milestone in a career spent rubbing shoulders with rock royalty.
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On Saturday, February 7, locals will be able to hear about how Matera put pen to paper for his biographical release about the mega-popular Swedish quad, The Making of ABBA, in an unfiltered author talk at the Kyabram library.
The Making of ABBA stitches together research, photos, reviews and interviews with musicians for a complete musical analysis of the Swedes’ third, self-titled, album.
It’s an album that brings Matera back to his roots in Kyabram; an album he bought as a boy for just $6.99 and has devoured ever since.
“It’s an album I know inside out,” he said.
“I just want to share my knowledge and my passion for the group and the music, and you know if others rediscover their music and understand a bit more why ABBA is so popular then I’ve done my job.”
Matera is a regular columnist for the Shepparton News and an accomplished music journalist contributing to music mastheads across the globe.
His experiences speaking with rock royalty are captured in his autobiography, Louder Than Words, but his decision to switch styles to biographical wasn't accidental.
“I love reading books about the makings of certain albums,” he said.
“I wanted to do something like that and something from a different angle.”
The research for The Making of ABBA took him to Stockholm where he spoke to musicians and even toured Benny Andersson’s studio to look around.
“There’s hundreds of other books (about ABBA) because they are so huge; so what makes my book different is it comes from the perspective of musicians — from someone who understand the inner workings of the music,” Matera said.
“And because I’ve also worked with one of the guitar players in Stockholm from ABBA, I also have this sort of inside knowledge.
“Björn and Benny from ABBA know about the book, and they sort of gave me their blessing, which was great.”
His hard work has paid off beautifully — the book is now published in the United Kingdom by Sonicbond Publishing and distributed in the United States by top publisher Simon & Schuster.
It’s an achievement he never would have dreamed of when buying ABBA’s self-titled album all those years ago.
“I never thought I would be where I am today, and done what I’ve done,” Matera said.
“I’ve just followed my passion … it feels surreal.”
Hear more about Joe Matera’s fascinating journey writing The Making of ABBA and his career as a music journalist at the Kyabram library from 10.15am on Saturday, February 7.
