Progressive Rock
Bjørn Riis releases “Divergence” on 13 November through Karisma Records. It’s four new songs — “Carry Me”, “Mercy”, “Break Free” and “When I Think of You” — largely written during the sessions for “Fimbulvinter”, the album he put out in April 2025.
Together with that album and the live release “Lifandi”, from this past May, “Divergence” closes a trilogy. The label presents it as the place where Riis has been able to follow directions that didn’t fit on the two previous records.
The preview is “Mercy”, a duet with Norwegian singer Mimmi Tamba. “It’s about healing from emotional trauma and realising you can’t do it alone,” says Riis.
Riis plays every instrument on the album. Mixing and mastering are by Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes, a longtime collaborator, and the cover photograph was taken by Riis himself at the Rubjerg Knude lighthouse in Denmark, with design by Asle Tostrup, singer of Airbag, the band Riis founded.
The vinyl edition is a thousand copies on 180-gram marble vinyl, and the first two hundred pre-orders, vinyl or CD, come with a signed postcard.
Text by Guillem Cardós