Q&A: Ivan Page Dissects Secrecy and Symbolism in ‘Ivan’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY SOPHIE GRAGG ☆
IN HIS DEBUT ALBUM IN THE CASE OF IVAN,Los Angles-based artistIvan Page invites listeners into a cold, atmospheric world defined by a sub-genre he calls "Eggplant Rock" or "Modern Vampiric". Centered around a character named Ivan, a figure that serves as both a common "John Doe" and a vessel for exploring queer identity, the album navigates the tension between public perfection and the flaws we hide in the shadows. Drawing on a "colder" sonic palette inspired by the likes of David Bowie and King Krule, Ivan Page uses the surreal imagery of the eggplant to represent brute human instinct and the internal battles that come with it.
The project is as much a visual experiment as it is a musical one, born from public art exhibits and inherited Soviet-era aesthetics. From its exploration of "despondence and emptiness" to its movement toward a live-band sound, the album marks a significant step in Page’s evolution as both a songwriter and a conceptual storyteller. It is a deeply personal letter intended to resonate with the universal experience of being the hero of one's own story while fearing what it all means.
Read below to learn more about the "Eggplant Rock" genre, the public art performance that inspired 80 drawings of the artist, and the familial history behind the character of Ivan.
LUNA: Can you tell us about the making of the album?
PAGE: This album is about a vampire named Ivan who’s obsessed with eggplants. It sounds so cliché, but I really was thinking about the eggplant a lot—in what it represents in the greater picture of popular culture, yes, but really how it has superseded whatever it was initially meant to be. The eggplant represents the brute instinct of us all, but also the internal battles we go through to fight that.
The true concept part of the album, which starts with ‘Ivan’s Interlude’, dives into a much colder scape post-vampire transformation where Ivan has accepted being a vampire like others around him, but it doesn’t really lead to much joy or excitement, more so despondence and emptiness. That’s what the songs are about and what guided the writing of many of them.
LUNA: How has your sound evolved this past year?
PAGE: With this project, I really wanted to get closer to something that feels and could be performed with a live band. From going to so many concerts, I’ve really started thinking about what constitutes a good show and how that can be reflected in the music. It’s a work in progress, but I think this project gets a lot closer to that goal!
LUNA: What's your favorite set of lyrics from the album?
PAGE: One of the most guiding lines for the whole album is: “Mean Mr. Eggplant wants to plant his Egg, / Secretive young man scared of what they’ll say.” This is from ‘The Vampire,’ which was probably the first song that I truly felt was for this album.
The lyric is absolutely about secrecy and touches on queer identity and sexuality in general. Vampires are viewed as perfect—flawless skin, living forever—but have major flaws in the shadows. It’s impossible to be actually perfect, and it’s also not necessary, even if it sometimes feels like society expects just that.
LUNA: Can you tell us about any plans for music videos?
PAGE: I’ve had a few music videos for this album already on YouTube! The first video for 'Deep Red' featured Ivan’s introduction as a warm-blooded being dressed in red, only to eventually change into the colder, suited version that embodies the rest of the visuals. ‘The Vampire’ video features a modern love story of Ivan being bitten and fully transforming into a vampire himself—cold and detached. Similarly, the ‘Meanie’ video has Ivan rolling the dice, continuing the unending cycle of being a vampire in the modern world.
LUNA: Tell us more about "eggplant rock."
PAGE: Haha, yeah! Eggplant rock—which I’ve also been calling "Modern Vampiric"—is a sub-genre of alt/indie rock and post-punk. Specifically, it has a colder sonic palette; more detached but still overt. Think King Krule, David Bowie, and Nilufer Yanya. Something with feeling but almost atmospheric.
LUNA: You had strangers watch you at the park and draw you while listening to your music. I'd love to hear more about what inspired this concept and your takeaways from the experience?
PAGE: It was so cool, but it also started out as an exercise in public humiliation. I stood with an eggplant in hand on a soapbox, heavily inspired by those silver men who stand super still on plazas. I did this once a week for about four months from December last year to mid-April this year.
It ended up being about 80 drawings. People would draw and listen and just ask questions—it sparked conversations about music, art, or just the weather. One drawing featured an eggplant holding my head! Some were literal, others totally surreal; one even quoted ‘To be or not to be,’ which really is one of the themes of the album.
LUNA: What color do you associate with this album?
PAGE: Definitely purple, but also kind of an off-white like the shirt Ivan wears. Fun fact: I inherited this shirt from my Russian Grandfather (whose father’s name was Ivan). I wanted to honor him, and I thought this ‘Moskva’ brand button-up from the Soviet Union really embodied the coldness and secrecy I was trying to encapsulate as Ivan.
LUNA: How did you land on your artist name?
PAGE: P-A are the first two letters of my middle name and G-E are the first two of my last name—so it’s a bit of a Tom Marvolo Riddle situation. In terms of "Ivan," the name is like ‘John’ in Russian; it’s so common, like a John Doe. Ivan doesn’t just represent me. Ivan can be just about anybody. We’re all a little bit like Ivan: the heroes of our own stories but slightly fearful of what it all means.
LUNA: What's one thing you want people to know about this album?
PAGE: For the listener, I hope it resonates and feels representative of their own experiences and not just my own. My music is often a deeply personal letter to myself, but I always hope it can be of some use to others too. The words are there, but what you make of them is your own decision.
LUNA: What intentions do you have for these upcoming months?
PAGE: New music! But also, I’ll finally be playing live in LA later in the summer. I’m planning to play some sets along the LA River by Frogtown over the next couple of months. I just want to play these songs live and see how they sound! Anyway, thank you for the questions and if you read this far then ‘Hey’ — Ivan.
