Viktor Ognøy Ekeløve

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, Pål 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.