
With its release date set for the April 8, 2022 on Karisma Records, Bjørn Riis‘s fourth full-length solo album “Everything To Everyone,” deals with the toll that continuously having to meet the expectations of others takes on ones emotions, heightened by the fear of losing oneself in the effort to do so.
This is poignantly illustrated in the track “The Siren,” which Karisma Records have released as a video single.
As Bjørn explains: “Musically the song derives its inspiration from the more mellow side of Roger Waters, Richard Hawley and Tim Bowness, and is told from the perspective of someone observing a dancer. Lyrically it depicts how one can be easily mislead by temptation and hurt in the need for approval.
The Siren itself dates back to the A Day At The Beach recording sessions with AIRBAG. It was one of many demos that I presented to the band but which didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the material.
Whilst writing Everything To Everyone, I redid most of the arrangements and lyrics and “The Siren” ended up being one of my favourite tracks on the album, and I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Simen Valldal Johannessen (OAK) for the beautiful piano, Henrik Fossum (AIRBAG) for the delicate drumming, and engineer Vegard Sleipnes for the mixing.“
The single of “The Siren” can be streamed or downloaded from various services here: https://link.karismarecords.no/Bjorn-Riis_The-Siren
Watch the official music video “The Siren” through the YouTube player below:
For the album itself, which Bjørn admits was inspired by Dante’s Inferno, he has once again teamed up with long-time collaborator Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes, who, as well as co-producing the album with Bjørn, also handled the engineering and mixing. Mastering was carried out by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow and The Opium Cartel).
In addition to Bjørn’s vocals and celebrated guitar playing “Everything To Everyone” also features guest appearances from Henrik Bergan Fossum (Airbag), Kristian Hultgren (Wobbler), Simen Valldal Johannessen (Oak) and Norwegian singer/songwriter Mimmi Tamba.
With a cover photo by Anne-Marie Forker and design by Asle Tostrup the album can be pre-ordered here: https://www.karismarecords.no/kar199-bjorn-riis-everything-to-everyone/
Tracklist:
- Run
- Lay Me Down
- The Siren
- Every Second Every Hour
- Descending
- Everything To Everyone
Ltd Digisleeve CD bonus tracks:
- Everything To Everyone (Alternate version)
- Desolate Place