Bjørn Riis — Lifandi (Karisma Records, 2026)
Bjørn Riis, known for his work with Airbag, will release his first live recording, Lifandi, on May 29. The four-track mini-album was recorded during his 2025 European tour and features material from his 2025 studio album Fimbulvinter.
This four-track mini-album features material from Fimbulvinter and reaches back to Forever Comes To An End, while it is also a heartfelt tribute to Ace Frehley, one of Riis’ guiding sparks.
This is not a fully progressive rock voyage, but it has its moments. “Gone” delivers hooky beats and classic-rock guitar lines. “Getaway” races forward with Floydian air around it, all widescreen atmosphere and restless guitar.
Then “Where Are You Now” brings the room to a hush. It is a slow, inward, and deeply human piano ballad.
The true summit arrives with “Fimbulvinter.” It begins in hard-rock mode, all riffs and gathering clouds, but halfway through the song opens into something far grander. The Mellotron blooms, the guitars melodies rise, and Riis finally steps into genuinely progressive terrain, ending the set with a tremendous, cinematic conclusion that feels like sunlight breaking over a frozen sea.
Riis said the tour gave the songs a different character onstage and led him to preserve that version of the material in a stand-alone release. The title Lifandi is a Norse word for “alive.”
Bjørn commented: “I love performing my solo material. The shows are all about the songs and the music—bare-boned, high-energy, and a lot of fun. On this tour, I played with some incredibly talented musicians, and many of the songs and arrangements took on a new life. I wanted to capture that feeling and create a little souvenir of the experience to share with everyone.”
The lineup on Lifandi features Riis on vocals and guitar, Simen Valldal Johannessen on keyboards, Arild Brøter on drums, and Øystein Sootholtet on bass. Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes handled mixing and mastering.