Janove Ottesen (born Jan Ove Ottesen, 1975) is a Norwegian musician, born in
Stord
Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...
,
Hordaland
Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. He specializes in
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
and
barrels, and is a leading member of the Norwegian band
Kaizers Orchestra
Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian alternative rock band formed on 1 January 2000. They are notable for being among the first non-black metal Norwegian artists singing in their native language to become popular beyond Scandinavia.
In 2012, the gr ...
.
History
Youth and first contact with music
Bryne
Bryne () is a town in Time municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality of Time and it is also one of the 50 largest towns/cities in Norway. Bryne's location in the region of Stavanger/Sand ...
, where Ottesen grew up, had few activities available at the time other than
football, so he was given a guitar by his grandmother when he was a child. Ottesen and his friend
Geir Zahl began writing music in his cellar, recording their music on a cheap tape recorder.
The partnership between Ottesen and Zahl eventually evolved into the band Blod, Snått og Juling. In 1994 they produced their first studio album ''En glad tunnel'', which only sold 50 copies. They made a more serious attempt with better studio equipment for their second album, but this still only managed to sell around 100 copies.
gnom and Kaizers Orchestra
Ottesen moved to
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
in 1995 to study. In 1996 he joined the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, but soon after moved back to Bergen and became a music teacher. Upon his return Ottesen and Geir formed a new band
gnom
gnom (gnome) was a Norwegian folk music band, the third band started by Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl. Despite being relatively obsolete on the Norwegian musical scene, it is an important part of the creation of Kaizers Orchestra.
History
A ...
. They released the album ''Mys'' in 1998, but it sold poorly. After gnom's dissolution, the pair finally found critical success in forming the band
Kaizers Orchestra
Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian alternative rock band formed on 1 January 2000. They are notable for being among the first non-black metal Norwegian artists singing in their native language to become popular beyond Scandinavia.
In 2012, the gr ...
.
Solo career
After two albums had been released by Kaizers Orchestra, Janove decided to launch a parallel solo career while working on a third album ''Maestro'' (released in 2005). His 2004 solo album, ''Francis' Lonely Nights'', is entirely in English and contains 12 songs, two of which had their music videos filmed in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
.
In September 2015 Ottesen announced he was returning to the mainstream music industry under the artist name Janove. His first single, "Regnbuen Treffer Oss Ikkje Lenger" ("The Rainbow Doesn't Hit Us Anymore"), premiered on
Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizat ...
on 30 January 2016 as he performed it live for the first time. He says his music has influences of
R'n'B
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
,
hip hop and
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
music. The lyrics are also more modern than the fans might have gotten used to with Kaizers Orchestra. The first album of his new solo career, ''Artisten og Marlene'', came out in 2017, followed closely by his 2018 release ''Hengtmann'', which utilized songs left over, or developed after writing the former album.
After touring with his solo band Janove did a stripped-down tour consisting of just himself, with emphasis on unique set and lighting design. This was paired with the release of an EP, ''Spindelvevriff'', in late 2018. He continued with this concept of a stripped-down tour in 2020, when he released another EP he had written while in lockdown during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, ''Barrikadeballader''.
In September 2019 he released his single "Det Sorte Karneval", the title track for an album of the same name, originally slated for release in the fall of 2020. A second single was released before the 2020 pandemic, but once larger music venues stopped hosting concerts the decision was made to delay the album release by one year to allow for a large tour. On December 24, 2020 Janove released two more singles for the upcoming album.
Career as a producer and other music
In 2007, Kaizers decided to take a break for the majority of the year, only writing up demos for their fourth album and playing three concerts (including opening the German art expo
Documenta festival). Janove took this opportunity to write music for ''Det Tusende Hjertet'', a family musical which opened in November 2007. In August 2007 he revealed that his next side project will not be a solo album, and that he has assembled another band (like fellow Kaizer bandmate
Terje Winterstø Røthing and his band
Skambankt). Nothing is known about the status of this project.
Aside from his work with Kaizers and as an independent artist, he has also acted as producer for multiple albums, working with various artists with various styles, including Micke From Sweden (folk),
Britt-Synnøve Johansen (tango), and The Brigade (Americana). He also participated in
Geir "Uncle Deadly" Zahl's album ''
Monkey Do'', released on 1 February 2010. In 2022, Janove produced
Morten Abel's album, Engelig Seier.
Personal life
Ottesen is married and has two children. They live in
Stavanger.
Discography
Blod, Snått & Juling
* ''Ein Glad Tunnel'' (released in 50 copies in 1994, only on cassette)
* ''Sympatiske Fisk'' (released in 100 copies in 1995, only on cassette)
* Unreleased cassette (1996)
gnom
* ''Mys'' (1998)
Kaizers Orchestra
Albums
* ''
Ompa til du dør'' (2001)
* ''
Evig pint
''Evig pint'' (English: ''Eternally Tormented'') is the second studio album by Norwegian alternative rock group Kaizers Orchestra, recorded in November and December 2002 and released on 3 February 2003.
Background
After the release of the b ...
'' (2003)
* ''
Maestro
Maestro (; from the Italian '' maestro'' , meaning "master" or "teacher") is an honorific title of respect (plural: maestros or maestri). The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera, in line with the ubiqu ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Maskineri'' (2008)
* ''
Våre demoner
''Våre demoner'' ( en, Our Demons) is the fifth studio album by Norwegian alternative rock group Kaizers Orchestra. Recorded during early 2009, it was released in limited quantities on 27 April 2009. Unlike their four previous albums, the mater ...
'' (2009)
* ''
Violeta Violeta'' (2011/2012)
** ''
Violeta Violeta Vol. I'' (Jan. 2011)
** ''
Violeta Violeta Vol. II'' (Nov. 2011)
** ''
Violeta Violeta Vol. III'' (Nov. 2012)
EPs and live recordings
* ''Gul EP'' (2000)
* ''Død manns tango EP'' (2001)
* ''Mann mot mann EP'' (2002)
* ''The Gypsy Finale'' (2004)
* ''Maestro EP'' (2005)
* ''
Live at Vega'' (2006)
* ''
250 prosent'' (2008)
* ''
Live i Oslo Spektrum'' (2011)
* ''Stjerner i posisjon'' (2013)
Solo
Albums
* Unreleased Solo Project (1997)
* ''Francis' Lonely Nights'' (2004)
* ''Artisten og Marlene'' (2017)
* ''Hengtmann'' (2018)
* ''Det sorte karneval'' (2021)
* ''Fullmånehymner'' (2022)
EPs
* ''Spindelvevriff'' (2018)
* ''Barrikadeballader'' (2020)
Singles
* ''Regnbuen treffer oss ikkje lenger'' (2016)
* ''Verden går til helvete, tralala'' (2016)
* ''Aldri la de tru de er bedre enn deg'' (2016)
* ''Marlene'' (2016)
* ''Hengtmann'' (2017)
* ''Våpen (feat. Ane Brun)'' (2017)
* ''Bak en sky heim'' (2018)
* ''En større dag'' (2018)
* ''Det sorte karneval'' (2019)
* ''Verdens lengste farvel'' (2020)
* ''Opp Av Ruiner'' (2020)
* ''En rik brønn som lyger'' (2020)
* ''Synd at synd går i arv'' (2020)
* ''Blomster frå ei grav'' (2021)
* ''Lev Seint, Lev Sant'' (2022)
* ''Carnaby Jul'' (2022)
Musical theatre & orchestral
* ''Det Tusende Hjertet'' (2007)
* ''Pirater!'' (with
Geir Zahl, Unreleased, 2011)
* ''Sonny'' (Unreleased, 2011)
* ''Do You Love Me'' (Collaboration with
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra ( no, Stavanger Symfoniorkester, SSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Stavanger, Norway. The SSO principal venue is the Stavanger Concert Hall (Stavanger konserthus), performing in the Fartein Valen concert hall. ...
, 2012)
* ''Peter Pan'' (Unreleased, 2016)
* ''The Mute'' (collaboration with
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra ( no, Stavanger Symfoniorkester, SSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Stavanger, Norway. The SSO principal venue is the Stavanger Concert Hall (Stavanger konserthus), performing in the Fartein Valen concert hall. ...
, performed 2018, recording released 2019)
* ''Violeta Violeta'' (Musical theatre adaptation of Kaizers' trilogy, with
Geir Zahl, in development)
External links
www.janove.no (official homepage)Kaizers Orchestra (official website)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottesen, Janove
Living people
Musicians from Bryne
Norwegian guitarists
Norwegian male guitarists
Norwegian male singers
Norwegian multi-instrumentalists
Waldorf school alumni
Musicians from Stord
1975 births
Kaizers Orchestra members