Progressive Rock
Karisma Records release “Divergence”, Bjørn Riis’s new mini-album, on 13 November. It holds four tracks —“Carry Me”, “Mercy”, “Break Free” and “When I Think of You”— written for the most part during the sessions for “Fimbulvinter”, the sixth solo album by the Airbag guitarist, which came out on 11 April 2025.
The label frames it as the end of a run of three, completed by that album and by “Lifandi”, the first live record Riis has released: it came out on 29 May this year with four tracks taped on a short European tour in the autumn of 2025.
“I love working with the mini-album format. It feels less constrained than making a full album,” Riis says, claiming “more freedom to explore different ideas”. The advance track is “Mercy”, out on 18 September, a duet with the Norwegian singer Mimmi Tamba; Riis says it is about “healing from emotional trauma and the realization that you can’t do it alone”.
Riis plays every instrument on it. Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes mixed and mastered. It comes on CD, digital and a limited marbled vinyl LP.
Text by Guillem Cardós