Artist: Airbag
Genre: Progressive, Rock
Label: Karisma / Dark Essence Records
Bandmembers:
Bass – Anders Hovdan
Vocals, Acustic Guitar – Asle Tostrup
E-Guitar, Vocals – Bjørn Riis
Keyboard – Jørgen Hagen
Drums – Henrik Fossum
Time for Metal / Holopain
Hello Airbag, the first thing that highlighted you from the rest of the other bands (and which was also the reason for me to choose your album for a review) is the unusual name. An airbag is something that is used in car manufacturing. Do you represent something alike in terms of creating music? A somehow new way of music, that one can actually see as a kind of protecting device? From what do you protect your listeners?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
We needed a name and came up with Airbag. Simple as that, I’m afraid.
Time for Metal / Holopain
Presently, Norway isn´t that famous for progressive bands. How dedicated is the Norwegian progressive scene anyway since there are only few bands like Gazpacho, Magic Pie and Airbag. Do you see yourselves as pioneers of a genre in your country or do you see yourselves as hailing to 70´s bands like Pink Floyd or rather to Norwegian progressive bands of the 70´s like Popol Vuh and Aunt Mary?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
I think Norway has a great prog-tradition all the way back to the 70s and there are lots of new bands emerging, including Airbag. Norway is a small country but the prog scene is growing fast and we see that bands like Porcupine Tree, Mastadon, Anathema etc are visiting quite often and that’s a huge inspiration for us all.
Time for Metal / Holopain
By now, as I am correctly informed, you released two EPs and, your new record included, two full length records. Can you describe how the band evolved during the last seven years?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
We’ve always had a strong sense of writing the music we want to hear and what comes natural to us. We’re inspired by all kinds of bands and genres and I think it’s important for any band to embrace its roots and at the same time forcing it self to go beyond any restrictions. Identity, our first album, was a compilation of the songs we’d written up to that point. There’s a certain feeling about those songs that would be hard to capture again. We’ve had some personell changes since then and matured as a band and musicians and All Rights Removed is very much a statement of where we are now. It’s bigger, longer songs, more guitars and a slightly heavier egde.
Time for Metal / Holopain
The music you play often sounds very profound and reflects strong emotions and a somehow melancholic undertone. Where is your inspiration coming from? What do you want to express?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
Inspiration can be anything from hearing a certain song, being overly fascinated by one or several bands, personal experience etc but I think our strongest influence is the vibe we get from playing with each other. We usually have rough ideas for a song or maybe 3-4 minutes material and something happens when we start to arrange the different bits and just play for hours and hours to get the right feel. I dont‘ know why we sound so melancholic all the time but personally that’s how I express my self.
Time for Metal / Holopain
Tell us more about the single songs. If one has a look at the titles it seems to be that there is a red chord through the songs (unfortunately I don´t have the lyrics), a story that begins with the destruction of a system (All Rights Removed), goes on to the creation of something new by linking it to ideas that have a certain appeal (White Walls and The Bridge), continues with the development of this new system (Never Coming Home and Light Them All Up), but somehow feels a deep regret and loss of stability in this new system since evolution to something new is only achieved through sacrificing old values/morals/ethics (Homesick). Is there something like a concept in your latest record?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
It’s not a concept album in the sense of Tommy or The Wall but there’s a read thread through out. We don’t really want to say too much about it at this time but rather leave it to the listener. I think your interpretation was somehow spot on but I think you can interpret in many ways. What we wanted to do was to portray the destructive forces in our society in one man or figure. He’s a destructive force in the system but at the same time he’s also being used for whatever value he might have.
Time for Metal / Holopain
In what way does the cover-artwork support your concept of music, since there is a person jumping from a bridge in the picture. Do you want your listeners to exercise this „free fall“ as well in a way that they have to be open-minded for your way of playing music?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
The idea came from one of the songs, The Bridge, which actually is about the many souls that each year comes to Golden Gate to end their lives. The man on the cover is diving but you don’t really see if he’s falling or flying…
Time for Metal / Holopain
You are very active in terms of the internet and communicating with you fans via facebook. How important are this tools for an uprising band like Airbag?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
It’s a great way for us to stay in touch with our fans and being able to thank them for all their support. I think it’s very important for any band to stay in touch and to use the medias that are availabe. The bonus is that it’s incredibly efficient and it’s free!
Time for Metal / Holopain
When one reads you profile log it seems to be that especially polish fans are very enthusiastic about Airbag since there are great bands like Riverside that play a similar kind of music. Is it possible for you to estimate your following in the different European countries?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
The support we get from Poland is overwhelming but we have fans all over the world and everyone seems to be equally devoted, which is all you can hope for. It’s hard to tell just how many there are but the sales of our albums has been way beyond our estimates, so we’re incredibly happy so far!
Time for Metal / Holopain
The interview´s last lines are yours. What do you want to tell your fans?
Airbag / Bjorn Riis
We’d like to thank all our fans in Germany for your support! Hope to see you soon!
Best regards
Bjorn Riis, Airbag