Bjørn Riis
Biography Bjørn Riis
Bjørn Riis
is a founding member of the highly successful Norwegian progressive rock band Airbag. The band’s five critically acclaimed albums, including their latest A Day at the Beach (Karisma Records 2020), has gained Airbag a strong following around the globe.
In addition to being the band’s lead guitarist, main songwriter and co-producer, Bjørn has also worked with other bands and artists, including Opium Cartel, Oak and Marco Ragni.
Airbag has shared the stage with many legendary acts, including Marillion, Yes, Saga, Neil Morse and Riverside and performed at some of the biggest festivals, including Night of the Prog and Cruise to the Edge.
As a solo artist, Bjørn has released four awarded and acclaimed albums, Lullabies in a Car Crash (2014), Forever Comes to an End (2017), Coming Home (2018) and A Storm is Coming (2019). All on the prestigious Norwegian prog label Karisma Records.
Bjørn’s last album, A Storm is Coming, was met with rave reviews from both press and fans. Progrock.org.pl called it “A masterpiece” and gave the album 5/5, while Prog Magazine recognised Bjørn’s unique lyrics by commenting “Such a vulnerability is rare to behold in prog.”
The album feature six striking tracks, all dealing with human emotions and the fear of losing one self in the constant effort to meet every, often perceived, expectation. “I was inspired by Dante’s Inferno when I started to write. A bit pretentious perhaps, but I’ve always been fascinated by that very personal journey and the search for some kind of peace or redemption, while being both mentored and hurt along the way. Musically, I wanted to take the listener on that journey, experiencing both hope and anxiety.”
In addition to Bjørn’s vocals and celebrated guitar playing, Everything to Everyone feature appearances from Henrik Bergan Fossum (Airbag), Kristian Hultgren (Wobbler), Simen Valldal Johannessen (Oak) and Norwegian singer/songwriter Mimmi Tamba.
Once again, Bjørn has teamed up with long-time collaborator Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes, who co-produced the album with Bjørn, engineered and mixed it. Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow and The Opium Cartel) mastered the album.
