“Gomme dasticache” is October's debut EP.
Intense, authentic and without filters, the artist from Campania tells her world of raw emotions, internal conflicts and a continuous search for herself.
October takes us behind the scenes of her musical project, revealing the stories behind her songs, the path that led her to this debut and her dreams for the future.
Between rock and pop, between music and life in search of the soul of a singer-songwriter ready to leave her mark.
THE INTERVIEW
Hi Giulia! So, we're here to talk about your first EP. It came out on November 8th, right? Tell us a little about how these first few days went. Usually interviews are done before the release, but I like to do them after, so we can understand the reactions and emotions. How are you living this experience?
It's an incredible experience, truly! It's my first time releasing an EP, and even though I've been writing for a while, this is my real first time being able to express everything about me.
It's a bit like falling in love for the first time.
I must say that I am satisfied just with the work done with my team.
There's so much of me in these songs, I can't be a stranger to what I do.
And how was the first feedback?
Super positive! We also did a release evening in a club and it was exciting. M
I missed performing live. It was like a domino effect: finding those feelings, that energy again.
I've done other lives in the past, but this time it was different, more intense.
So we can say that it wasn't a “shitty idea” (quote title of a song on your album; ed.) to make this EP, right?
Haha, no, absolutely! Maybe I put some crazy ideas into it, but it wouldn't make sense not to. In the end, it's fun to tell yourself that way too.
Let's talk about the title of your EP, “Chewing Gum”. It's metaphorical, right? What does it represent for you?
Absolutely! It represents so many things. First of all, yes, I'm addicted to gummies, so that's a reference to that too!
But above all it is a metaphor for my creative process. The songs stuck to me, just like gum.
And you know when you chew it too much and the taste becomes disgusting. It's the moment you say, “Okay, that's enough, I'm going to let her go now.”
So it was with the pieces: they were mine, but now they belong to those who listen to them.
From a musical point of view, you chose pop with a rock attitude. A bit in contrast to the binge on urban products. Did you only let what you felt guide you?
I didn't worry about trends. I wanted to do something that represented me 100%, something that others could find themselves in too.
Musically, I grew up on pop-punk, I sang Blink in the shower! It was natural for me to bring out this side of me.
Among the songs on the EP there is a song by Naska “A Letto awaken”, where there is also a tribute to Cremonini. But what if you had to choose between Naska or Cremonini?
Difficult to choose! Cremonini accompanied me during my growth, while Naska won me over with her direct and authentic approach.
It's a combination that worked perfectly. I found myself completely in the song, and Cremonini fits it perfectly: I just made his homage a little more mine.
You mentioned to me before that this EP represents a sort of rebirth for you. In the past you had experience in fashion, dance… How did you bring all this into music?
I have always thought that everything we do serves a purpose.
I am a “multiple” person, I like doing many things and I believe that, if integrated well, they become a plus.
In fashion, for example, I took care of the styling and image of the project.
There is a top in the shoot that I sewed, as well as a crochet headpiece.
It's nice to include everything that represents you in what you do.
Last question: was there a specific moment in which you decided to become a singer? An epiphany?
I don't think there was a unique moment. It's like it's always been a part of me.
Even when I dedicated myself to other things, music continued to “knock on the door”.
At a certain point, I asked myself: am I really giving this thing a chance?
It was a gradual process, but inevitable.
Giulia, thanks for this chat and good luck with everything. Your EP is not a “shitty” idea, on the contrary!
Thank you! And you know, even crazy ideas are always useful.
THE RECORD TRACK BY TRACK
“shitty idea”
A bitter disappointment and regret for having trusted someone who didn't deserve it. Ottobre describes the first track of the EP like this: “Yes I had a shitty idea, I thought I could give you a second chance and instead it was bullshit, everything ended badly and that's okay, I'll put you on the long list of lost stories, chewed gum stuck under your shoes.”
“before dawn”
The song reflects an intimate and melancholic nostalgia, linked to memories of happy moments and the awareness of a cycle that seems inevitable. “This morning I woke up and I wanted pancakes, so I prepared them, and while I was doing it I wondered where we had gone wrong, we once loved each other and I still remember it when we made love and deep down I know that you I will call back, that you will write to me again and that we will end up in your room once again.”
“tachycardia”
“I give up, it's all wrong and I don't even know if it's my fault or your fault, my head is pounding, I have anxiety, I want to be alone, I'm scared, my heart is pounding and I still wish I could have you close to me to be able to call you home, but I know that you are no longer my home” is how the artist explains this song. The song expresses a strong internal conflict and a sense of loss, mixing anxiety, fear and melancholy.
“wake up in bed”
The song is a version reinterpreted by October's eyes of the song “Aletto awakened” by Naska. The theme of mutual misunderstanding is explored, the fear of not being accepted for who she is and the awareness of the differences between her and the other person emerges. “I convince myself too often that I am wrong, that you can't understand me, and I wonder if we are destined for unhappiness, I won't be the way you want and you won't be the way I want but in any case I wonder if together we are still something”. The song also includes a quote/homage to Cesare Cremonini.
“dagger”
The song represents the self-acceptance of pain and suffering, transforming emptiness and paranoia into a place into which the artist voluntarily immerses himself. “I'm paranoid, I feel the void and I throw myself into it, I swim in it and in the end I like it, I take the pain and build something new with it, not even a dagger blow can hurt me, I will be left with a sign from which new things will be born stories.”
“in the end”
Uncertainty about the future mixes with a calm acceptance of the separation, underlining that, despite the pain, it could be for the best. Ottobre comments on the last song of the EP as follows: “I turn off the lights, I turn off the phone, I've said everything I had to say to you, we've done a lot of good and we've done a lot of harm, I'll stop with the accusations and I'll keep quiet, I don't understand anything anyway, maybe it's late and maybe not, I don't know, I just know that in the end I turn around and you're no longer there, and maybe, in the end, that's okay.”
ABOUT OCTOBER
October is Giulia Panza, born in 1996, born among the silent houses of Ariano Irpino, a town in Campania, in the province of Avellino.
Shortly thereafter he moved to Teramo to attend the dance high school, where he studied classical and contemporary dance, disciplines which he then studied in depth in Rome at the National Dance Academy. Here he approaches music and begins to play the guitar as a self-taught and shares some covers on YouTube, enjoying a small success and gaining his first fan base. When the words of others begin to weigh on her, she begins to write her own songs, which she plays live between Rome and Milan, where she has moved in the meantime. In Milan, she began collaborating as a model with various brands, arriving on the catwalk for AVAVAV and Simon Cracker at Milan Fashion Week 2023; in the same year two of his first singles were released: “Musica orientali”, written with Iacopo Sinigaglia and produced by Brail and “Solo se è dark”, produced by okgiorgio. In 2024, Ottobre signed for the Thamsanqa label with which he released his first EP entitled “GOMME DA MASTICARE”.
WEB & SOCIAL
https://www.instagram.com/october.off
