AN ENCOUNTER WITH OCTOBER AND THE EYES.
A TRANSGRESSOR. A MUSIC MYTH IN THE MAKING.

INTERVIEW JADE WILFORD
PHOTOGRAPHY JONATHAN HALLAM
MAKE UP PHILLIPPE MILETTO  

JW
WHY THE NAME?

O
I'VE ALWAYS HAD A MORBID FASCINATION WITH AND FEAR OF EYES. EYES CAN SAY SO MUCH WHILST DOING SO LITTLE. EYES HOLD THE NUMEN OF POWER. BACK WHEN I WAS DOING SOLO SHOWS I DEVELOPED A HABIT OF STARING INTO AUDIENCE MEMBERS EYES AND NOT LOOKING AWAY FOR MINUTES. USUALLY THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD INCITE PURE TERROR IN ME IN AN EVERYDAY SITUATION. SOMETHING UTTERLY UNCOMFORTABLE, AND YET IT BECAME OF EASE TO ME WHEN I WAS PERFORMING. TO THE EXTENT IT WAS SOMETHING I ACTUALLY ENDED UP RELISHING IN...TO SEE HOW THIS UN-EXPECTING STRANGER WOULD REACT TO MY STARE. SOME WOULD LOOK AWAY, SOME WOULD LAUGH UNCOMFORTABLY AND SOME WOULD SCREAM AND CHEER. IT WAS AN EXPERIMENT ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MYSELF AND THE AUDIENCE.

JW
WHY MUSIC?

O
MUSIC IS SUCH AN ACTIVELY REWARDING PROCESS. IT'S LEARNING AND EXPERIMENT WITH CAUSE AND EFFECT IN REAL TIME. IT'S INSTANTANEOUS SPONTANEOUS! TO ME AT LEAST BEING A SOLO WRITER AND PRODUCER. I'VE ALWAYS INHERENTLY UNDERSTOOD IT AND CAN'T SAY THAT ABOUT OTHER THINGS. 

I GREW UP IN THIS AGE WHERE MUSIC IS NO LONGER A PHYSICAL OBJECT THAT CAN BE BOUGHT. QUITE THE GENERATION Z. BUT I DO HAVE THE VIVD MEMORY OF THE FIRST BAND I TRULY OBSESSED OVER AND THAT WAS THE DOORS.

JIM MORRISON WAS MY FIRST 11-YEAR-OLD CRUSH AND I WOULD SNEAK INTO MY DAD'S CAR TO PLAY HIS DOORS CD ON THE CAR STEREO IN PRIVATE. FRONT AND BACK, OVER AND OVER DRUMMING THE LYRICS AND MELODIES INTO MY YOUNG BRAIN. I CAN RECITE EVERY ORGAN SOLO BY HEART!

SO MUCH MUSIC THESE DAYS IS FAR TOO POLISHED, IT'S BECOME INHUMAN. HUMANS ARE INHERENTLY IMPERFECT, SO I DON'T SEE WHY THIS SHOULDN'T BE REFLECTED IN MUSIC TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. STRIVING FOR PERFECTION IS BORING IN MY EYES - I HAVE ALWAYS PREFERRED A BIT OF ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES. IT IS THE ACCIDENTS, THE IMPROVISATION, THE OFF THE CUFF MOMENTS THAT MAKE ANYTHING WITHIN ARTISTIC EXPRESSION MORE EXCITING. THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE - THE UNIQUELY HUMAN ASPECT OF IT. IN SAYING THAT HOWEVER, I DO THINK THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ADMIRATION TO BE HAD FOR HUMANS WHO LABOUR OVER THEIR ART TO GET IT TO A PLACE OF NEAR PERFECTION - BUT THEN AGAIN WHAT IS PERFECTION!? BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER ISN'T IT?

I THINK THAT ONE'S OWN PERSONAL JOURNEY AND PERSONAL SATISFACTION WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING ART IS OF THE UPMOST IMPORTANCE.

WHEN WORKING ON MY AMBIENT SOUND PIECES, IT'S A FORM OF ESCAPE FROM EVERYDAY THOUGH AND I HOPE THAT THEY ACT AS SOME FORM OF TRANSPORTATION  FROM FEAR OR DISENCHANTMENT WITH LIFE. I CAN'T SAY THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF LOGIC BEHIND THE PROCESS OF MAKING THEM. IT'S MAINLY A TRANSLATION OF PURE EMOTION INTO SONIC FORM.  

JW
WHAT IS OCTOBER DRAWN TO?

O
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN CARL JUNG'S THEORY OF ARCHETYPES AND THE IDEA OF MASKENFREIHEIT; THE FREEDOM CONFERRED BY WEARING MASKS. AND WHEN IT COMES TO POETRY, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE WRITTEN SINCE I WAS A YOUNG GIRL. I AM VERY LUCKY IN THAT I HAVE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH MY GRANDMOTHER WHO IS A SPEECH AND DRAMA TEACHER AND HAS INSTILLED HER LOVE OF LANGUAGE AND SPOKEN WORD INTO ME. POETRY IS SUCH A DISTILLED FORM OF WRITING. SO MUCH CAN BREAK SAID WITH SO CAREFULLY CHOSEN WORDS. IT'S A MEDIUM THAT I THINK HAS ALWAYS RESONATED WITH ME - AND PROBABLY BECAUSE I HAVE SUCH A SHORT ATTENTION SPAN TOO. I LOVE THE WORD PLAY AND PHONETICS OF POETRY AND IN A  WAY, THAT PLAYS OUT LIKE LITTLE SONGS IN AND OF THEMSELVES. I'M ALWAYS REFORMING POETRY OR SHORT PROSE THAT I'VE WRITTEN INTO SONGS.

IT'S NEVER BEEN THE FANTASTICAL OR FANTASY THAT HAS INTRIGUED ME AT ALL THOUGH, BUT MORE THE STRUGGLE OF COMMON MAN EXALTING HIMSELF BEYOND THE EVERYDAY FODDER AND BECOMING HIS OWN SELF-MADE MYTH, INTO LEGEND. THAT TO ME SEEMS MORE FANTASTICAL THAN FICTION. I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT JIM MORRISON DID, AND PROBABLY QUITE CONSCIOUSLY TOO.

WHAT TURNS ME ON THE MOST IS TOTAL LIBERATION AND DISREGARD FROM OTHER OPINIONS. THIS TO ME IS REBELLION. THAT IS WHAT INSPIRES ME. THE TRIVIAL PURSUIT OF MAN AND YET HOW ONE CAN TRANSFORM ONESELF INTO LEGEND.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT SO MANY OF MY IDOLS EMBODIED AND IT WAS CONSIDERED REBELLIOUS AT THE TIME. A FEW NAMES THAT COME TO MIND ARE PATTI SMITH, BARBARA KRUGER, FRANCIS BACON, JOAN OF ARC, IGGY POP, MARIA ABRAMOVIC, SIOUXSIE SIOUX, LYDIA LUNCH, RICHARD KERN TO NAME A FEW. UN-LEARNING TO CARE ABOUT OTHERS OPINIONS OF ME IS AN ONGOING LESSON. IT'S NOT AN EASY THING TO DO, AND I'M SURE I'M NOT ALONE WHEN I SAY THAT APPROVAL FROM OTHERS CAN BE EXTREMELY REWARDING! BUT I THINK AS AN ARTIST IN ANY CAPACITY, IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO MAKE WORK FOR YOU AND YOU ALONE.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF THIS WORLD THAT END UP STANDING OUT THE MOST AND LEAVING A MEANINGFUL MARK.




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