Photo: Kim Dürbeck

Serine
Hei, jeg skal dekke Red Bull Sound Select på Onsdag og har lyst til å legge ut en kort Q&A med deg. Har du mulighet til det? Tenkte bare å ta det her på chat isåfall
Ivan Ave
Hei!
Shoot!
Serine
Kult 🙂
Hva vil du helst fokusere på?
Videoreleasen er jo spennende, hehe.
Ivan Ave
Ja fokuser gjerne på det
Serine
OK da begynner vi.
Is it OK if we do it in English?
Ivan Ave
Yes!
Serine
Nice.
So first of all, the aesthetics of your music videos span broadly in artistic expression and technical details. The way I see it there is however some kind of visual identity recognizable in your work. Is it possible to describe your aesthetics?
Ivan Ave
I’m afraid the short answer is no, I cannot. The aesthetic of each video, record cover and so on, is something that happens in the pursuit of expressing a certain feeling. Very little energy goes into aiming for a particular set of aesthetics. There is no visual “brand” I stick to really. I struggle describing my sound too, because a big part of my process in both fields is just intuition, luck, utilising limited resources, and rolling with the punches. But a cohesive factor is definitely the visual artists I work with, like Erik Treimann, Moe Chakiri, Hans Jørgen Wærner, Even Suseg of AKA to name a few. So I would give it up to them if my output feels consistent to people. (STORE SPØRSMÅL FÅR STORE SVAR hehe)
Serine
Haha yes, definitely a massive answer. Anyway, I see some key elements in the beautiful film still-friendly sequences, from you surrounded by plants and in amazing nature shots to being filmed on your bike in the streets and in backyards captured in surveillance camera format. Good productions created through good collaborations. And speaking of collaborations, can you tell me about the one that you did together with Kaytranada?
Ivan Ave
Kaytranada is a good dude, who before he became Montreal’s chosen one, and a lot of other camp’s champion, was just a beat geek. Before I linked with him I knew he had re-posted my music. Plus the folks at my label Jakarta Records know him through working with him on a Jakarta release some years ago. So it was just a matter of reaching out to a fellow geek. I recently saw him in Montreal. There could be some more music in the works, but we’ll see.
Serine
Yay! I hope there will be more music from you geeks. Some years back when I discovered Kaytranada’s fresh kind of sound in remixes like Janet Jackson’s “If” and Missy Elliot’s “Sock it to me” it was so new to me, but still with very familiar vocals and melodic stems, so that it felt nearly unreal to listen to. The EP “Kaytra Todo” has also been on repeat. Do you have any personal favorites by him that you would like to share? Except from your own track off course.
Or besides I mean 🙂
Ivan Ave
Sorry, må ete opp burritoen min. Snakkas om litt!
Serine
Hehe ja in your time. Jeg lager curry her.
Ivan Ave
Jannis at Jakarta gave me Kaytra’s Remix EP when I first signed with them. So I love that record for a few reasons, and play it out all the time, even though discogs prices tell me I shouldn’t. I also love his work with Karriem Riggins.
Serine
Sorry, kom akkurat hjem, vært på Yoga og besøk!
So you actually got the Remix EP as a sort of a welcome present? When did you sign with Jakarta Records? I see they have other great artists too, like Sango, IAMNOBODI, Anderson Paak and Ta-ku! Great company for you. And for them. I have to ask tho : what is discogs?
Ivan Ave
Yes, a signing gift of sorts. I signed with them for the release of my Low Jams EP in 2014. Jakarta is a good home for me for sure. Discogs is like eBay for records.
Serine
Cool! So finally, what can we expect tomorrow from the premiere of your new track and video “Young Eye”? What kind of mood is reflected in the beats and music? And what will we see in the video?
Ivan Ave
“Young Eye” is a conversation I have with my younger self or my future first born. These times of smoke and mirrors are worrying and confusing, so I wanted to clear up some shit for my self through an imaginary dialog. The music came together beautifully, through the help of Mndsgn, Arthur Kay Piene and Kristoffer Eikrem, with all the soul and jazz those three possess. The video depicts a child’s inner journey towards enlightenment. Nothing less. The video was shot in my friend Mohamed Chakiri’s mother land Morocco. He and fellow Mutual Intentions members Erik Treimann and Hans Jørgen Wærner really killed it, with help from Terje Vestervik.
Serine
How exciting! First of all I admire that you focus on communicating such a serious and relevant topic. I really like your track “Once Again” produced by Mndsgn and hope for the dreamy, funky rhythms of his productions. It will definately be exciting to hear the collaboration between the two of you, Piene and Eikrem. Piene I am not familiar with yet, but I was at Eikrem’s performance at the opening of Uncontaminated Fashion Art Festival last year, and that was really awesome! So, a child’s inner journey towards enlightenment in beautiful Morocco. Wow. That makes me think of Paulo Coelho, Yves Saint Laurent and 1001 nights. But maybe it will be a bit more down to earth, street and tasteful than a mix of those three. Anyway, I can’t wait to see your performance and the new video tomorrow evening! Thanks for the chat and take care 🙂
Ivan Ave
Thank you! Safe travels.