Tag: Ivan Ave Hope Nope

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Norwegian JOVM Mainstay Ivan Ave Returns with a Dreamy Visual for Contemplative “Hope/Nope”

Over the past few months, I’ve spilled a quite a bit of virtual ink writing about this site’s latest mainstay, Eivind Øygarden, an acclaimed Telemark, Norway-born, Oslo-Norway-based emcee, best known as Ivan Ave. The acclaimed, Norwegian emcee’s third album Double Goodbyes was released earlier this year through Playground Music/Mutual Intentions. 

Deriving its title from a Seinfeld references, Double Goodbyes finds the acclaimed emcee leaving the sample-heavy behind sound of his previously released work and moving towards a broader — and at times more soul influenced — sonic palette. The album also marks the first time that Øygarden took up production duties, producing the majority of the album’s material himself.

Recorded last year in Los Angeles and Oslo, and featuring guest spots from Sasac, Bryon The Aquarius, Joyce Wrice, and others, the album was recorded during a period of personal struggle for the JOVM mainstay, where the work became both the focus and the therapy. “I needed to start from scratch in my life and rebuild it step by step, the music was part of the healing process.” Interestingly, some of the aesthetics of the Home Shopping Network and late ’80s and early ’90s new age influence some of the album’s material. ‘“It’s easy to mock, due to some of its pompous cheesiness,” Ivan Ave says in press notes. “But as I’m getting older, experiencing life’s ups and downs, the essence of it feels genuine.” (It shouldn’t be surprising that A Tribe Called Quest’s and The Midnight Hour’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad once described the acclaimed Norwegian emcee’s work as “deeply therapeutic” on his podcast.)

“Double Goodbyes is a product of just making music that moved me, in a phase of my life where I was building from scratch emotionally,” the acclaimed Norwegian emcee explains in press notes. “I found healing in producing and singing these songs, without necessarily putting my usual rappety-rap hat on. But as the album title suggests, a lot of times we find ourselves bumping into the exact things, people and habits that we thought we had left behind. So my hip-hop roots shine through once again, in this weird blend of RnB, AOR and synth sounds. Sasac was my main co-creator on the record, along with some dope music friends such as Kiefer, Mndsgn, Byron The Aquarius, Devin Morrison and more.”

I’ve written about a handful of the album’s singles, including “Triple Double Love,” “Phone Won’t Charge” and “Guest List Etiquette.” And while sonically, the material is a silky smooth and slick synthesis of 80s and 90s synth-led R&B J. Dilla-era hip-hop, the songs themselves reveal a wizened self-awareness that comes from hard-fought personal experience, through narrators, who have come to recognize that they’ve been unintentionally and unwittingly repeating patterns that have made them miserable — and/or unfulfilled. But it ain’t all serious. There’s a playful self-deprecating humor throughout, especially on “Guest List Etiquette.” a track that focuses on a common dilemma for artists across the globe: everyone hitting them up to get on the guest list for their show.

The album’s fourth and latest single the Thundercat-like “Hope/Nope” is a dreamy song centered around a sinuous bass line, shimmering guitars and atmospheric synths and an infectious hook. But unlike the album’s previously released material, the song finds its narrator vacillating between hope and despair. Can one hold onto hope when things seem so bleak, uncertain and dystopian? Shit, sometimes it’s just so fucking hard to be human. 

“This is the daydreamer’s anthem on the record, part escapism, part war cry. The rap verse came out sweet but dystopian,” Ivan Ave explains in press notes. “Sasac saves the day on the last verse, with a medieval guitar solo that makes me hopeful again. Hope seems to be the most important overarching theme of the album when I listen back to it. I’ve learned to respect cognitive dissonance as a weapon, a survival instinct maybe, in Darwinian terms. Double edged sword though.”

Directed by Mats Christian Rude Halvorsen, the recently released video for “Hope/Nope” is a contemplative and eerie fever dream — centered around a dream-like logic while evoking the eerie sensation of someone, who’s been in isolation for some extended period of time, walking out into the world. “The video for Hope/Nope came about right after the initial phase of self isolation here in Oslo,” Øygarden explains in press notes. “Mats, Thomas and I really wanted to get out of the house and create something, but we of course had to wait until restrictions were softened up enough. I think we brought that energy into the execution of Mats’ ideas. I think the song is a good fit with that energy. That restlessness combined with a dreamy slumber.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Ivan Ave Releases a Public Access TV Inspired Visual for “On The Very Low”

Over the past couple of months, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink writing about this site’s latest mainstay, Eivind Øygarden, an acclaimed Telemark, Norway-born, Oslo-Norway-based emcee, best known as Ivan Ave. Now, as you may recall, the acclaimed Norwegian emcee’s third album Double Goodbyes is slated for a Friday release throught Playground Music/Mutual Intentions. 

Deriving its title from a Seinfeld reference, the album finds the acclaimed emcee leaving the sample-heavy sound of his previously released work behind and moving towards a broader — and at times more soul influenced — sonic palette. Unlike his previously released work, the album marks the first time that Øygarden took up production duties, producing the majority of the album’s material himself.

Recorded last year in Los Angeles and Oslo, and featuring guest spots from Sasac, Bryon The Aquarius, Joyce Wrice, and a list of others, the album was recorded during a period of personal struggle, where the work became both the focus and the therapy. “I needed to start from scratch in my life and rebuild it step by step, the music was part of the healing process,” the Telemark-born, Oslo-based emcee says in press notes. The aesthetics of the Home Shopping Network and late ’80s and early ’90s new age wound up influencing aspects of the album’s material. “It’s easy to mock, due to some of its pompous cheesiness,” Ivan Ave says in press notes. “But as I’m getting older, experiencing life’s ups and downs, the essence of it feels genuine.” (In some way, it shouldn’t be surprising that Ali Shaheed Muhammad once described the acclaimed Norwegian emcee’s work as “deeply therapeutic” on his podcast.)

“Double Goodbyes is a product of just making music that moved me, in a phase of my life where I was building from scratch emotionally,” Øygarden says in in press notes. “I found healing in producing and singing these songs, without necessarily putting my usual rappety-rap hat on. But as the album title suggests, a lot of times we find ourselves bumping into the exact things, people and habits that we thought we had left behind. So my hip-hop roots shine through once again, in this weird blend of RnB, AOR and synth sounds. Sasac was my main co-creator on the record, along with some dope music friends such as Kiefer, Mndsgn, Byron The Aquarius, Devin Morrison and more.”

I’ve managed to write about the album’s first four singles “Triple Double Love,” “Phone Won’t Charge,” “Guest List Etiquette” and “Hope Nope.” And while sonically, the material has been a silky smooth and slick synthesis of 80s and 90s synth-led R&B and  J. Dilla-era hip-hop, the songs are centered around a wizened self-awareness that comes from hard-fought personal experience: The songs features narrators, who have recognized that they’ve been unintentionally and unwittingly repeating patterns that have made them miserable and unfulfilled. But it ain’t all serious. There’s a self-deprecating and winking sense of humor throughout. 

“On The Very Low,” Double Goodbye’s fifth and latest single is a one of the more R&B leaning tracks on the album. Featuring shimmering blasts of guitar, a sinuous Thundercat-like bass line, stuttering hi-hat and four-on-the-four, the track finds Ivan Ave crooning lyrics centered around a simple and earnest hope that while things may be difficult in the near future, that the difficulties will pass — and that better days lay ahead. And while things may seem bleak and uncertain in the near future, we should all keep the hope that this will soon pass. It may take time but we shall get through this. 

Employing a Public Access video-like aesthetic, the recently released video for “On The Very Low” features Ivan Ave, programming his sampler and singing the song with a bassist friend in someone’s room. Off to the right is a romantic couple, who are just chilling. But behind them weird imagery is projected. It’s charmingly lo-fi and brings back found memories of watching video shows on Public Access in the 80s. 

“The video for ‘On The Very Low’ is a Public Service Announcement from myself and Mutual Intentions to all our people around the world,” Ivan Ave says of the recently released video. ” We miss you and look forward to dancing with you again soon. It was shot at Oslovelo, one of our favourite spots to listen to music, and edited by Mats Christian Rude Halvorsen. Stay safe and enjoy!”