I had no idea (until a few moments ago) that Airbag’s Bjorn Riis had a forthcoming solo album. The teaser sounds gorgeous.
Tag: Airbag
Best Prog of 2016, Part III
Ok, so I’m taking a bit to get through my best of 2016. It was a GOOD year. Certainly not when it came to violence or politics, but music. It soothes my upset soul. Thank you, fellow proggers.
One quick note before I dive into part III.
I must mention an album (two parter) that brought immense joy to me this year: the soundtrack of STRANGER THINGS. I’ve had the opportunity to sing the praises of this glorious 8-part nostalgia trip of a Netflix series elsewhere, and I’m terrible at trying to describe and review electronic music. Regardless, this soundtrack captures the mystery of the series just perfectly. I’ve seen the series three times, and I’ve listened to the two-CD soundtrack a million more. Few things will define 2016 as much as this series did.
Ok, back to regular programming. . .
Airbag’s DISCONNECTED: The Spirit of Mark Hollis and Rick Wright
Review of Airbag, DISCONNECTED (Karisma, 2016). Tracks: Killer; Broken; Slave; Sleepwalker; Disconnected; Returned.
When Airbag first appeared on the prog scene with their extraordinary album, IDENTITY (2008-2009), they seemed a fascinating cross between Pink Floyd and Talk Talk, at least in their influences. Or more accurately, perhaps, imagine Pink Floyd performing Talk Talk songs. Even the cover of IDENTITY looked like something James Marsh would’ve painted. The atmosphere the band created—at least in the studio—was nothing short of astounding. Moody, driven, and meaningful. One might be tempted to call their music prog shoe-gaze.
Their first and only (as far as I know) live release, LIVE IN OSLO, proved just how amazingly talented the four members of Airbag are. After hearing them live, no one could dismiss them as a studio band merely. As much as I liked IDENTITY, it was the 24 minutes of LIVE IN OSLO that utterly blew me away. Upon my first listen to this short album, I knew this band was something special.
Continue reading “Airbag’s DISCONNECTED: The Spirit of Mark Hollis and Rick Wright”
RochaNews: Airbag’s new song, “Killer”
“Killer was one of the first songs written for Disconnected,” commented Airbag guitarist Bjørn Riis. “I had this idea of this ruthless corporate guy who used everyone to gain success – sort of Bateman from American Psycho meets Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko. He’s outside, or disconnected from, the rules of our society.
“Musically, ‘Killer’ is slightly different from what we’ve done before. There’s more emphasis on the drums, different rhythm patterns and electronic elements. It really was a band effort, where everyone was contributing ideas and trying out new stuff.”Disconnected, the follow-up to Airbag’s critically acclaimed 2013 release The Greatest Show on Earth, will release on June 10 via Karisma Records.The band has launched a Disconnected website with several pre-order options, video content and more at: http://www.airbagdisconnected.com/.
Featuring six songs with a common theme of alienation between the individual and society, Disconnected was recorded with long-time collaborator and engineer Vegard Sleipnes and produced by Airbag vocalist Asle Tostrup and guitarist Bjørn Riis.
Guitarist Bjørn Riis adds: “The early demos for ‘Disconnected’ were written during a couple of months in late 2014. The idea and inspiration for most of the lyrics, and the title track in particular, came from me realizing that I had to make some changes in my life. I was tired of the daily routine, working 9-5 in an office doing basically nothing and never having enough time for my family and music. I took a year off and started writing for the album.
“As for the music, you want to look forward and explore new sounds and musical ground. We talked a lot about wanting to use more electronic elements and giving more room for the drums, allowing them to be more percussive and basically avoid the usual rock formula on all songs. We also wanted to do a more stripped down production and create a more spacious and dynamic sound.”1. Killer2. Broken3. Slave4. Sleepwalker5. Disconnected6. Returned
Airbag’s music is best described as scenic, epic rock – a sonic journey of lush soundscapes and arrangements, underlined by soaring guitars and soulful vocals. Airbag’s three previous album releases: Identity (2009), All Right Removed (2011) and The Greatest Show on Earth(2013) have gained the band a solid following and reputation among both fans and the press. Prog Magazine hailed The Greatest Show on Earth as a “confident step in the right direction, so much so you’re led to believe that album number four really could be the big one.”
Over the years, Airbag has also become a solid live act, playing at several major festivals and as support and in double-bills with bands like Marillion, Anathema, Pineapple Thief, Riverside, RPWL and Gazpacho.
Stay tuned for more information on Airbag and Disconnected, out next month on Karisma Records.-###-
RochaNews: New Airbag
I’m absolutely thrilled to read this news. I think the previous three albums have been outstanding, each better than the one before, and the solo album by Bjorn Riis was a thing of beauty as well. They started off rather Pink Floydish, but they’ve certainly become their own band with their own sound over the past two albums.–Brad
 AIRBAG ANNOUNCES FOURTH STUDIO ALBUM “DISCONNECTED” ON KARISMA RECORDS
“Disconnected” out June 10; teaser video streaming online
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 OSLO, Norway – Norwegian progressive rock act, Airbag, has announced its fourth studio album, Disconnected, to be released on June 10 via Karisma Records. A teaser video for Disconnected, the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed 2013 release The Greatest Show on Earth, can be seen on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/gG8vNaWnm1g.
Guitarist Bjørn Riis comments: “The early demos for ‘Disconnected’ were written during a couple of months in late 2014. The idea and inspiration for most of the lyrics, and the title track in particular, came from me realizing that I had to make some changes in my life. I was tired of the daily routine, working 9-5 in an office doing basically nothing and never having enough time for my family and music. I took a year off and started writing for the album.
“As for the music, you want to look forward and explore new sounds and musical ground. We talked a lot about wanting to use more electronic elements and giving more room for the drums, allowing them to be more percussive and basically avoid the usual rock formula on all songs. We also wanted to do a more stripped down production and create a more spacious and dynamic sound.”
Featuring six songs with a common theme of alienation between the individual and society, Disconnected was recorded with long-time collaborator and engineer Vegard Sleipnes and produced by Airbag vocalist Asle Tostrup and guitarist Bjørn Riis.
 1. Killer
2. Broken
3. Slave
4. Sleepwalker
5. Disconnected
6. Returned
Airbag’s music is best described as scenic, epic rock – a sonic journey of lush soundscapes and arrangements, underlined by soaring guitars and soulful vocals. Airbag’s three previous album releases: Identity (2009), All Right Removed (2011) and The Greatest Show on Earth(2013) have gained the band a solid following and reputation among both fans and the press. Prog Magazine hailed The Greatest Show on Earth as a “confident step in the right direction, so much so you’re led to believe that album number four really could be the big one.”
Over the years, Airbag has also become a solid live act, playing at several major festivals and as support and in double-bills with bands like Marillion, Anathema, Pineapple Thief, Riverside, RPWL and Gazpacho.
Stay tuned for more information on Airbag and Disconnected, out this June on Karisma Records.
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Airbag is:
Bjørn Riis – guitar
Asle Tostrup – vocals, keys, programming
Anders Hovdan – bass
Henrik Fossum – drums Airbag online:
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Dark Nordic Lullabies
Review of Bjorn Riis, LULLABIES IN A CAR CRASH (Karisma Records, 2014). 52 minutes. Six songs: A New Day; Stay Calm; Disappear; Out of Reach; The Chase; Lullaby in a Car Crash.
Without a doubt, my favorite Porcupine Tree song is “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here.” If you could take the best of that 12 minute song—its moodiness, its psychedelic atmosphere, its thundering bass and guitar, its surrealism—and expand it to 52 minutes in length, you’d have Riis’s solo album, LULLABIES IN A CAR CRASH.
Of course, you might also find yourself with a slightly less depressing version of Pink Floyd’s ANIMALS or THE FINAL CUT or a less religious and more nordic version of Talk Talk’s SPIRIT OF EDEN.
Whatever you’d have, you’d be listening to and holding something of intensity, struggle, and beauty. LULLABIES couldn’t be any moodier, frankly. In fact, if you’re feeling the holiday blues at all, don’t come near this album. If, however, you’re in a good state of mind, in a darkened room, wearing your state-of-the-art headphones, and sipping a vodka-tonic, then you’re a blessed listener. It won’t get better than this.
Indeed, this is the perfect early 1980s album, the type of album that you could (and probably will, even if you’re now in your 40s) listen to again and again and again, trying to immerse yourself in the very Riis-Hollis-Waters-Wilson atmosphere: thick, claustrophobic, and all-pervasive.
No one can avoid comparing Riis’s work here or with Airbag to Floyd and PT. Yet, there’s something distinctively Riis-ian, too. This is no mere cover band. By no means. In large part, Riis brings three critical things to each of his albums: 1) a haunting vocal style; 2) the uncanny ability to allow his music to flow, organically, as did Mark Hollis; and 3) an outrageously fine sense of audiophilia.
Of course, has there been a misfire from any Scandinavian prog release since Roine Stolt’s mind-bogglingly good THE FLOWER KING? Not that I know of.
Riis ably follows in this noble tradition.
To learn more, visit Riis’s official site: http://www.bjornriis.com/about/
Don’t Overlook Airbag
One of the best and most interesting Englishmen I’ve never actually met in person, Richard Thresh, recommended I check out a Norwegian band, Airbag, about two summers ago. Richard’s views and recommendations are almost always (in fact, I can’t think of one with which I’ve disagreed) spot on. He cautioned me that a lot of prog folk in the U.K. have dismissed them as warmed-over Pink Floyd, but that I should still listen to them anyway.
I did. But, appearances first.
Their first album cover—the best in my opinion—could be the sequel to Talk Talk’s The Party’s Over. This has James Marsh written (illustrated!) all over it. A single bulbous blue eye cries a teardrop of blood. It is equally disturbing and artistically enticing.
Before even talking indepth about the music, let me add up a couple of things. A recommendation from Richard Thresh, a band from Norway, and a cover painting inspired by James Marsh. Three for three.
What about the music? Yes, they wear their Pink Floyd (mostly Gilmour) influences rather dramatically on their psychedelic sleeves. In fact, they do so really loudly. And, the cover of their most recent album, Greatest Show on Earth, has a very 1980s Floydish look. The guitarwork could be done by a student of Gilmour’s, and the organist possesses a rather Wrightish touch.
Comparing them to Floyd, though, isn’t enough. Not surprisingly, especially given the artwork of the first album, a rather strong air of Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene hangs over all in a thick entangled and shifting haze as well.
Some reviewers also have heard some A-ha in Airbag. Granted, each band begins with an A, and each is from Norway. Otherwise, I hear no similarities at all between the two. This, though, is quite possibly a limitation on my part, as I own all of Airbag’s music, while I’ve listened to only two of A-ha’s albums—each years ago.
Whatever influences these guy wear openly, they are their own band. The musicianship of Airbag is simply outstanding. For proof of this, listen to their two-track live album, Live in Oslo (2008). Holy smokes, this is great stuff. Though only 24 minutes long, Live in Oslo ranks, at least in my mind, as a live recording up there with Rush’s Exit Stage Left and Anathema’s Universal. These guys can really, really, really (I could keep going here) play.
It was listening to this short live album that convinced me of their excellence. The two songs sound almost conducted in the sense that Bruno Walter conducts the Viennese Philharmonic.
A point about the lyrics. I know absolutely nothing in any personal way about the musicians in Airbag. If they vote socialist or if they worship Freya—I have no idea.
But, I really (yes, multiply this word several times) like their lyrics. The lyrics are more Hollis than Floyd. And, that’s a good thing, as they reach a very poetic level. One could easily listen to the vocals merely as another instrument in the Airbag’s music–the singer is this good to be a standalone instrument—but one should really attempt to bring the lyrics and their meaning into he music. As just mentioned, they reach poetic levels, but they also deal very interestingly with what might be called, apolitically, libertarian themes. Meaning, they lyrics explore very nicely and intelligently the role of community, individuality, rights, artistry, creativity, and conformity.
My final word in this post. Don’t let the comparisons to Pink Floyd throw you off. Yes, the band is rather proudly and openly Floydian, but in terms of skill, musicianship, harmony, purpose, and lyricism, they reach toward great heights.
When your monthly budget allows you to purchase that next cd and you’re in the mood to try out a new band, don’t overlook these guys.
I almost did, but Richard Thresh prevented me from making this mistake. Start with the two-song live album. If you like it, purchase any or all of their three studio albums: Identity; All Rights Removed; and/or The Greatest Show on Earth. You won’t regret it. In fact, you might even need to send a thank you note to Richard.
Progarchy 