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When Karisma Records released AIRBAG‘s fifth full-length album “A Day at the Beach” in June 2020, neither band nor label, or indeed the fans themselves, realised that the Pandemic would soon rage throughout the world, putting paid to any plans bands may have had to play live in front of an audience.

Eager to showcase their songs and show fans that they had not been abandoned by the band, AIRBAG came up with the idea of not just recording an acoustic set, but also of filming the recording process itself, which resulted in the band  entering  the Subsonic Society Studio in Oslo to set the process in motion.

As AIRBAG explained:

2020 had been a difficult year for us all. With our new album, “A Day at the Beach”, released in June of that year we had planned to tour and play live for all our fans and friends but it was not to be. Still, we wanted to do something special that would keep us connected to our fans and also to say thanks for everyone’s support in these trying times. Doing this acoustic session allowed us to revisit songs from the new album and a few old ones as well. A new challenge for sure but a fun and inspiring experience. 

Having successfully streamed a portion of the studio set last Autumn, the full acoustic album, appropriately titled “A Day in the Studio” is now ready to hit the streets in December of this year.  As well as the three tracks from “A Day at the Beach”, the new album will feature two classic tracks, “Colours” and “Sounds That I Hear” from AIRBAG’s 2009 album “Identity”, plus  a previously unreleased track “Come on In”.

Both the CD and Vinyl versions come with a DVD of the original streamed session which shows AIRBAG in an intimate setting, away from the usual festival stages, which is where fans are most used to seeing them.

As to the decision to make “A Day in the Studio” an acoustic album, AIRBAG had this to say:

Most of our songs start out on an acoustic guitar and it’s always been about the melodies that go into making a great song. Since we never got to tour our latest album, “A Day at the Beach”  due to the pandemic, going  back into the studio with just acoustic guitars gave us the chance to revisit those songs.

We really didn’t intend for it to be more than a lockdown session, which everyone was doing at the time, but it sounded really good, with slightly different arrangements and all three of us singing. So we ended up with two sessions and digging deep into our catalogue to find songs that fit really well with the new stuff. 

Mixed by Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes and filmed by Eirik Stordrange, tracklisting for “A Day in the Studio” is as follows: 

1. Machines and Men (A Day at the Beach)
2. Sunsets (A Day at the Beach)
3. Into the Unknown (A Day at the Beach)
4. Come on In (previously unreleased)
5. Colours (Identity – cd/vinyl only)
6. Sounds That I Hear (Identity – cd/vinyl only)

“A Day in the Studio” will be released on Karisma Records on the 3rd of December,  is now available to pre-order from:

Webshop: https://www.karismarecords.no/kar217-airbag-a-day-in-the-studio-unplugged-in-oslo/ 
Bandcamp: https://airbagsound.bandcamp.com
US Webshop:  https://karismarecords.indiemerch.com

Adept at blending diverse musical styles and sounds with a strong narrative listening experience, AIRBAG has been  hailed as one of the most important bands to emerge from the Norwegian prog scene over the past decades. Formed  in the mid 2000’s with a lineup that comprised five high school class mates, two of whom,  Asle Tostrup on vocals and Bjørn Riis on guitars, have been joined by  Henrik Bergan Fossum on drums and form today’s incarnation of AIRBAG as a trio.  

The original streamed version of “A Day in the Studio” can be seen at https://youtu.be/el-pY9U8TYQ