Bjørn Riis
“Bjørn Riis is one of the most outstanding progressive artists around.” - progreport.com
“Guitar players will probably know the website Gilmourish. Well this is the man behind it. Bjorn is a great guitarist in his own right though.” - Lee Harris, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets
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 a series of awarded and acclaimed albums, Lullabies in a Car Crash (2014), Forever Comes to an End (2017), Coming Home (2018), A Storm is Coming (2019) and the latest, Everything to Everyone (2022). All on the prestigious Norwegian prog label Karisma Records.
About Everything to Everyone, Progradar (UK) wrote “This fantastic musician’s best work!”, while Dutch progressive rock magazine IO Pages said “Amazing how Riis manages to display such quality every time. Indeed, this album is everything for every prog fan”.
This fall, Bjørn follows up on Everything to Everyone, with a new four track EP, A Fleeting Glimpse.
“This is a work of passion. It’s a chance for me to go back to my musical roots and pay a respectful homage. All four songs could easily have fitted on one of my albums but there is a seamless Pink Floyd vibe in all of them.” - Bjørn
A Fleeting Glimpse is capturing the true essence of Pink Floyd, from the mellow psychedelic soundscapes of the early 70s to the bombastic stadium rock of the 80s and 90s.
“I wanted to make it sound authentic, using gear and sounds that Pink Floyd would employ on a certain song or album. It really took me back to when I started to play guitar and experiment with tone and sounds.” - Bjørn
In addition to Bjørn’s striking Gilmouresque guitar playing, A Fleeting Glimpse feature a powerful performance by long-time Pink Floyd backing vocalist Durga McBroom. Other guest appearances feature Arild Brøter, from Norwegian prog band Pymlico, on drums and Per Øydir on Farfisa organ.
Once again, Bjørn has teamed up with long-time collaborator Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes, who engineered and mixed the EP. Mastering is done by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow and The Opium Cartel).