Bryne, 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
Janove Ottesen, Kaizers Orchestra at Trans Musicales 2004 in Rennes
Ottesen moved to Bergen in 1995 to study. In 1996 he joined the army, but soon after moved back to Bergen and became a music teacher. Upon his return Ottesen and Geir formed a new band gnom. 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.
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.
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 on 30 January 2016 as he performed it live for the first time. He says his music has influences of R'n'B, hip hop and rap 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, 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 Tananger.
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)
Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian alternative rock band formed in Bergen 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.
Evig pint is the second studio album by Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra, released on 3 February 2003.
Ompa til du dør is the debut album by Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra. It was released on 1 September 2001. In early 2002, Ompa til du dør won the "Best Album Award" at Spellemannprisen. In 2003, the album had sold around 100,000 copies worldwide.
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.
Maestro is the third studio album by Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra. It was released on 15 August 2005 by Kaizerecords and Universal Music Group. It was later released as a 2-CD limited edition with bonus tracks and videos.
Skambankt was a Norwegian hard rock band from Klepp, just south of Stavanger, formed in 1994. They played their last concert on November 4, 2022, at the DNB Arena in Stavanger.
Live at Vega is a two-disc live album released by Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra, on 6 March 2006. It features their recorded concert performance at Vega, a concert hall in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 6 October 2005. It was originally meant to be released alongside the DVD recording of the same concert, Viva La Vega, but the release of the DVD was delayed until later that year.
Skambankt is the self-titled first album by Norwegian hard rock band Skambankt. Several of the songs from the band's 1994 demo were recorded for the album, as well as the songs they recorded while being an Urørt band. All the track names have an exclamation mark after them, complementing the band's aggressive style.
Geir Zahl is a Norwegian musician. He is known for playing guitar in the Norwegian rock group Kaizers Orchestra. The band was founded by Geir Zahl and Janove Ottesen who had both played together in some other bands, namely Blod, snått & juling and gnom. Geir Zahl is the composer and main vocalist on several songs, both on the recordings and live at concerts.
Grand Island is a Norwegian band. The band was formed in Oslo in 2004, with members from Moss, Sørumsand, and Oslo. They released their first album Say No To Sin in 2006. The band themselves refer to their music as 'southern indie'. 'Say No To Sin' was well received in Norway and appeared on many lists of the best albums in 2006.
Maskineri (Machinery) is the fourth studio album by Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra, released on 18 February 2008. Recorded and mixed during November and December 2007, the album was released on the independent label Petroleum Records in Norway on 18 February 2008 and on Sony BMG in international territories on a later date.
Terje Winterstø Røthing is a Norwegian musician, playing guitar in the rock bands Kaizers Orchestra and Skambankt.
250 prosent is a live album by Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra. Released exclusively on vinyl and as a digital download in October 2008, the release features recordings of ten songs, recorded at various concerts held during the tour for the band's fourth album, Maskineri, which lasted from February to May 2008.
Våre demoner is the fifth studio album by Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra. Recorded during early 2009, it was released in limited quantities on 27 April 2009. Unlike their four previous albums, the material on Våre demoner consists of re-recorded versions of old material that was never released officially for various reasons. The album's liner notes contain information about how the lyrics relate to one another within the "universe" of the band's songs as well as lyrics.
Britt Synnøve Johansen is a Norwegian female singer.
Uncle Deadly is a Norwegian band from Stavanger. They were formed in 2009 as the second solo project of Kaizers Orchestra guitarist Geir Zahl. Morten Abel, Christer Knutsen, and Børge Fjordheim later joined the band and they became a full group. Several artists like Thomas Dybdahl, Thom Hell, and Janove Ottesen made guest appearances on their debut album.
Violeta Violeta is a series of studio albums by Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra, comprising their sixth, seventh, and eighth studio albums. The album trilogy was released throughout 2011 and 2012.
Live i Oslo Spektrum is a live album released on CD, DVD and Blu-ray featuring Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra. It features their concert at Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway on 9 April 2011, the official celebration of Kaizers Orchestra's tenth anniversary. The album was released on 11 November 2011. The live CD of the same concert, bundled with both releases, omits a certain number of songs due to capacity constraints.
The following is a list of notable events and releases of the year 1975 in Norwegian music.
Horisonten brenner is the sixth studio album by Norwegian hard rock band Skambankt. It was recorded over the course of several years at Bore Gardsrockeri. Janove Ottesen from Kaizers Orchestra was involved as producer.
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