Blenheim-born and Auckland-based 20-year-old Emma Logan, aka October, writes, records and produces her own music in her bedroom. She recently released her single and music video Cherry Cola, performing it at Huffer's afterparty at NZ Fashion Week and opening for the likes of Broods and Yung Lean.
What are you working on?
At the moment I am just fervently writing in the hopes to wrangle together a bunch of songs that may be worthy enough to make an EP/album.
What are your biggest achievements so far?
I'm really proud of my music video for Cherry Cola, which was self-conceptualised with the help of my boyfriend Connor, and shot by Lula Cucciara. I think it's so visually stunning! But also a huge achievement for me was opening for Broods as well as Yung Lean.
For those who haven't heard it, what does your music sound like?
Sweetly abrasive pop, waving a fist.
Tell us about a song you've recently written — where did the idea come from and what's it about?
My most recent single Cherry Cola was a bit of a cynical analysis on youth culture and the commercialisation around it. It's become this cheesy pre-packaged idea to make young people feel a part of something special. But at the same time, I'm very much a part of that, so the song's lovingly contemptuous.
Is that typical of the things you tend to write about?
Yes and no — I mean I've fallen into my own trap in critiquing the thing that is possibly my main subject matter. I just try to write about my current perspective on the world, which is forever changing. I think my next set of songs will speak differently though.
How would you say the music you make is different to musicians from past generations?
Everything I do is via my computer, which I guess is very 21st century. I write words or phrases into my phone to try to mould into lyrics at a later time. I create all the sounds synthetically through Logic and I record my demo vocals straight into my computer microphone. It's a very singular and solitude experience as opposed to having a handful of writers and producers at my disposal, so perhaps that's unique in a way.
What (or who) inspires you?
Female producers such as FKA Twigs, Grimes and Sevdaliza inspire me hugely. But funnily enough, I find visual aids the most inspiring when I am song writing. I often gather various images of different mediums that I feel create a particular mood or emotion and then try to write to those. For me, music is a very visual and emotional experience, so it often helps having inspirations from outside the realm of sound.
You started making music at age 12. Growing up in Blenheim, where did you get your ideas?
As cliche as it sounds, music has always been a part of my life, but I think it was about aged 12 that I starting writing my own songs. My mother is a music teacher, who studied classical performance piano in London, and my father is a huge music fan. I grew up listening to an equal amount of Rachmaninov, Chopin, and Debussy as much as The Doors, Pink Floyd and The Who. I don't remember who or what exactly inspired my songwriting as a 12 year old, but I do remember really wanting to be a jazz singer. As I grew up, the internet introduced my to a lot more electronic artists like Grimes, James Blake and Death Grips, and I think I was 16 when I started out teaching myself to produce electronic music.
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Advertise with NZME.What do you think of the music being made by musicians of a similar age to you? Who are you into?
Good music is good music to me whether you're 18 or 80 years old. But I think perhaps I'm a little more impressed by those who are able to pursue music at such a young age, because it is such a cut-throat industry. Some heroes of mine include Yung Lean, Archy Marshall and Sky Ferreira.
