Caligonaut releases video for introspective Magnified As Giants

New Norwegian progger Caligonaut, the solo project by artist Ole Michael Bjørndal, a guitarist best known for his work with Oak, Airbag and Bjørn Riis Band, has released a new video for his debut single Magnified As Giants. The song is taken from his upcoming debut album of the same name, which will be released through Apollon Records on February 26.

Magnified As Giants, the single, is out now, and features a striking new video from renowned music photographer Anne-Marie Forker which you can watch below.

"I am really happy with how the song turned out," Bjørndal tells Prog. "It started with a riff I made up on an acoustic guitar in Robert Fripp’s New Standard Tuning. I further developed the music, before I wrote the lyrics and then added layers of electric and 12-string guitars, all tuned differently, which produces harmonies reminiscent of early Genesis and Led Zeppelin.

"In the middle part of the song Wobbler members Andreas W. S. Prestmo and Lars Fredrik Frøislie brilliantly perform backing vocals and Mellotron and Moog, respectively. The story in the song is about a person’s catharsis and transcendence of a memory of a relationship that meant a lot, but is now holding them back. Forker’s video reflects this story."

As well as Wobbler's Frøisli and Prestmo, Magnified As Giants also features contributions from members of Meer, Airbag, Oak and Pylmico.

Magnified As Giants, the single, is the shortest of the four tracks on the album, which belongs within a classic prog rock landscape inspired by the guitar and bass work of King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Genesis and Rush, but blended with the more modern sounds of Tool and Opeth.

“Magnified as Giants was born out of a growing desire to make an album where l decide the direction of the music and build on my experience as a musical performer," he adds.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.