Viktor Ognøy Ekeløve
EkeloveDrummer
I, Viktor Ognøy Ekeløve, grew up in Helsfyr, Oslo and was born into a musical family. My mother, Gro Siri Ognøy Johansen, head of the foundation Modus Senter for Middelaldermusikk, has sung professionally all her life. My father, Gunnar Martin Ekeløve-Slydal, has been an active jazz pianist and played the organ since he was 12 years old.
I knew early on that I had the rhythm in my body. I started in the corps already in 1st grade at the primary school and after 6 years with the corps, I continued with teaching lessons at the cultural school.
In middle school I was introduced to rock music. Thanks to dedicated teachers who saw my potential and skills, I got to play a lot in middle school. This made me dive deeper into the world of music.
In 2015, I started at Edvard Munch High School in the music department. The three years of high school were very important to me, both socially and musically. Here I was introduced to jazz and Fusion. In addition, I met many other good drummers and musicians who challenged me to practice every day for several hours. The other musicians gave me a broader musical understanding. I received good follow-up and teaching from good teachers such as Marcus Lewin, Hector Novas and Einar Fjærvoll.
The last year of High School, I entered the Talent Development Program (TUP) at the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH). Here I got challenged in a jazz band and got main instrument lessons with the legendary drummer, PÃ¥l Thowsen. The last year of high school was therefore one of the most important years for my development and playing style.
After high school, I entered the study line in Performing Rhythmic Music at the University of Agder (UiA). At the University, I had Bruce Rasmussen and Karl Oluf Wennerberg as teachers in drum kit studies. After three years focusing on drum kit study, I completed my bachelor's degree in the summer of 2022.
After high school, I have played in many different concerts and projects in both Oslo and Kristiansand. Among other things in Revues at Nissen- and Lambertseter-High School. I play actively in EVA trio, Horda Band and my own trio, Ekeløve Trio which consists of Kevin Olsen Vadsten (Bass) and Rasmus Vik Lagerberg (Vibraphone).
I also have my very own project with my own name, EkeloveDrummer. I just released my first single, Polifony which is out on all streaming platforms now.
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I work daily as an assistant managing artistic director at Modushuset. Modushuset is a concert hall, bar / Café and often has cultural events. Modushuset has arranged the festival Eufemiadagene in August every year. The festival has a wide range of genres. A festival I have been central in the development of for many years and a festival I have ambitions to run independently in the future.