Eivind Øygarden, better known as Ivan Ave, has become a recognized name among Norwegian hip hop connoisseurs, even though he debuted his album under his own name as recently as 2016. With his 2017 album Every Eye, he proves once again that he is stylish and steady. Here he combines American West Coast harmonica and smooth jazz on the one hand with […]
/ 12/12/2018 / codexEivind Øygarden, better known as Ivan Ave, has become a recognized name among Norwegian hip hop connoisseurs, even though he debuted under his own name as recently as 2016. With his 2017 album Every Eye, he proves once again that he is stylish and steady. Here he combines American West Coast harmonica and smooth jazz on the one hand with a clear hip hop attitude on the other, and with great elegance. The production borrows heavily from the sound aesthetics of the 1970s and 80s, with "vintage" electric pianos, synths and drum machines. In that, we hear a statement, which the jury wholeheartedly supports: Eivind makes timeless hip hop - with a long shelf life. The instrumentation is sparse and open, without elements that argue with each other. Overall, it sounds solid and holistic. This is not just a collection of individual songs, they are a collective work.
Lyrically, we hear a poet who has created a text universe that is his own. He has chosen English. It is bold for a Norwegian, as even good English skills are often not good enough to create credible lyrics based on American street slang. We think he does it brilliantly. His vocal performance has great authority, it is self-confident and beautifully laid-back. Ivan Ave is making his mark in a hip hop market with great competition. Every Eye is rock solid. We feel confident that the audience can expect further greatness from Eivind Øygarden in the future.