MANILA, PHILIPPINES – With the holidays just around the corner, alternative pop/rock band Over October provides solace with their freshest single, ‘Into the Light’.
Released under Island Records Philippines, the song symbolizes loss and longing. Melancholic and heartfelt, ‘Into the Light’ talks about the struggle of getting through grief and mustering courage to carry on with life.
“Life will never be the same without the people that we’ve lost,” says Josh Buizon, front man of Over October. “We think that the inspiration of the song is a universal experience shared by the whole world.”
An instrumental tribute to overcoming challenges
The band’s newest track hopes to provide hope through capturing optimism and happiness despite the circumstances this year has thrust about.
“This time of the year, we’re usually all getting ready for Christmas and the new year – buying gifts, attending Christmas parties with friends and family, making plans for the new year and more,” they share. “The band hopes that you may find solace in the lyrics of the song and that your hearts find peace through the music.”
Their message resonates beyond Christmas, though, as ‘Into the Light’ reminds us how we can emerge stronger from heart-wrenching experiences. Heartbreaking moments come in various forms, from losing loved ones, breaking up with significant others, being far from family to fading friendships. But all of these teach us, again and again, that there is hope for tomorrow.
“Many of our friends and family have lost people dear to them and to us,” Over October explains “‘Into The Light’ is a tribute to all those who have passed during this year’s pandemic and to all those who were left behind.”
Through reflective instrumentation, the track also aspires for listeners to find resolution and reassurance. The song’s bridge, particularly, is aimed to help listeners reflect and process their emotions with the use of the tunes from different string instruments.
“I had a friend asking me to write a bridge for the song but I couldn’t find the words. So, while in the studio, I added the chords for the bridge and thought that I’d just leave it blank. It turned into an instrumental and we let the music speak rather than the lyrics”, explained Josh Buizon, the band’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. “Through the song, I tried to express how it felt to lose someone but say it in the simplest way possible and leave as much space for the listeners to ‘fill in the blanks’ with their own personal feelings and experiences.”
An artistic collaboration for message amplification
With Josh Buizon writing the song and the rest of the band members helping with arrangement, the song also features music artist Benny Manaligod (of The Ridleys), and singer-songwriter Coeli who added violin and cello tracks, respectively. Jazz Nicolas (of The Itchyworms fame) produced the single, while Peavey Nicolas (formerly of Sleepwalk Circus) mixed and mastered the track.
With the incorporation of string instruments, the collaboration brought about a long melodic contrast of warm and dark to bright and brilliant tones that fully show with the emotions that the band wanted to convey.
“We thought that the strings would really capture the feeling that we wanted to deliver,” shares Over October. “[Jazz Nicolas] really brought the best out of us through the arrangement. It was a collaborative effort all together and we were so happy to have been given the chance to work with everyone involved. We could say that this was one of the most exciting songs to work on.”
Listen to “Into The Light” here: OverOctober.lnk.to/
To all those we've lost and all those who were left behind. #IntoTheLight
"INTO THE LIGHT" out now on all music streaming platforms.https://t.co/H07j40mdlu pic.twitter.com/CmQPskGF0g
— Over October (@overoctoberph) November 19, 2020
