A Norwegian MC rapping in English; A breakdancing basketball player; A man named Doctor Dooblé — there’s a lot to like about Ivan Ave’s video for his new single: “Triple Double Love”
“What does it really mean to be a team player,” asks Norwegian producer and MC, Eivind Øygarden (aka Ivan Ave). It’s the question he poses for his new single “Triple Double Love.”
“What does it really mean to be a team player? In love, in business, in art. I dedicate this song to the James Milners of the world. To professional fouls, bruised knees and ankles.”
This is the kind of humble team-mentality that Øygarden brings to his projects (as well as a little sprinkling of humor). This mindset, and method of working shines through all of the work Øygarden puts his hand to. Take the video for his new single “Triple Double Love” for example. Øygarden makes a point at recognizing the whole team that worked on the project, saying: “I remind myself that I wouldn’t still be playing the game if it wasn’t for my team. My dribbles are dope, but I also need to D up! This is the first song I ever produced myself. Slam dunk moment for me, but I had some top musicians on the alley oops.”
He takes that serious sentiment and twists it into a bit of fun with his new video which features a Norwegian MC rapping in English, a breakdancing basketball player and a man named Doctor Dooblé. All of it dressed up in old school 90s basketball fashion and QVC-style nostalgia. A collaborative brain child of Øygarden and director Mohamed Chakiri, the video for “Triple Double Love” depicts a man who’s inner voice interferes with his outer reality. The main character has two loves in life: dancing and basketball. However, one of his loves repeatedly impedes on the other, a problematic pattern for both him and his basketball team. When our man gets introduced to the methods of New Age Sports Psychologist Dr. Dooblé, the two of them get to work on resolving these conflicting loves. Will they end the quarrels of his inner voice?
Øygarden grew up in Telemark — an area in Norway that is surrounded by rugged mountains known for its hiking, skiing, and folk music heritage. It’s one of the least likely places you would find the next aspiring hip hop artist. However, Øygarden found his musical influences in the R&B records of his older sisters; The Fugees, Janet Jackson and Raphael Saadiq.
When his family later relocated to Stavanger in southwest Norway, the teenager gravitated to the city’s prominent hip hop, break dance, and graffiti scene. All influences he took with him to NYC in his early 20s — a life-changing self-imposed residency, where he was hanging out and collecting records at cult institutions such as A-1 Records. Through hip hop he discovered 70s jazz and soul, and the eye-opening experience of sampling as a way of making music.
This year Øygarden is making moves in a new direction. His new single ‘Triple Double Love” highlights this shift. It’s an alternative urban indie and R&B approach that injects a personal storytelling element into his music. “I needed to start from scratch in my life and rebuild it step by step,” admits Øygarden. “The music was part of the healing process.”
Pre-order the 7″ vinyl of Triple Double Love / Phone Won’t Charge on Ivan Ave’s Bandcamp website (out March 6).
Ivan Ave – Triple Double LoveMusic Video Credits:
Produced by Ivan Ave & Sasac
Mixed and engineered by Deckdaddy
Mastered by: Christian Obermayer
Directed by: Mohamed Chakiri
DOP: Kim André Aspen
Editor: Erik Treimann
Costume & Set Designer: Fatimah Mahdi
Art Director: Hans J. Wærner
