Josh Buizon, Josh Lua, and Joric Canlas of Over October are this week’s guests on Billboard Philippines Volumes.
Best known for their breakout song, “Wait,” the five-piece band have been making music since they were in college together. “We were a college band,” shares Buizon, the band’s frontman. “[It started out] as me and Josh [Lua]…we started in the Ateneo Musicians’ Pool. There was this event called ‘Recital’ that happens at the end of the year. I was a soloist, Lua was in the guitar group, they mixed everyone up in the Recital and we performed in groups.”
“It just so happened that we were in the same group. After the event, on the way to the afterparty, we were in the back of a pick-up [truck], and Lua just asked me, ‘gawa tayo ng banda!’ (Let’s make a band!)…and then boom.”
The episode follows the drop of their latest single “Ikot” (Turn Around), which was released in April. The song is currently making rounds on Spotify’s Daily Viral Songs Charts for the Philippines, with the track peaking at the No.5 slot. As of May 22, “Ikot” is occupying the 12th spot on the chart. Their episode also marks the first time that the platform’s official podcast can now be viewed on YouTube.
The members of Over October then went on to talk about their journey as a band navigating middle point of the CD and Spotify era. When they were first starting out, they had primarily released music online on Soundcloud, while also selling their albums on physical CDs. With streaming then taking over, they talked about how challenging it may be for musicians, especially with algorithms promoting standalone songs rather than full albums, like before.
Watch the full episode of Over October on Billboard Philippines Volumes below.