Get Woke with OnenO PURE: A Transcendental Musical Experience

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OnenO, who was born Kevin Hastings and is one-half of Class 3 alum Sand Waves, dropped his latest single “Pure” last week, and we feel existentially and spiritually more woke having listened to it. OnenO Pure OneonO Pure WHAT’S IN A NAME? First things first. If you’re anything like me, you weren’t sure how to ...

OnenO, who was born Kevin Hastings and is one-half of Class 3 alum Sand Waves, dropped his latest single “Pure” last week, and we feel existentially and spiritually more woke having listened to it.

OnenO Pure

OneonO Pure

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

First things first. If you’re anything like me, you weren’t sure how to pronounce his name and felt very unhip in your ignorance. So, allow me to do you a solid and provide a quick tutorial: It’s pronounced “OH-nin-OH” and when you say it back to back many times it sounds like “on and on and on and on…”. This is completely intentional and incredibly clever. OnenO is a palindrome that is meant to represent the artist’s core concept of oneness or wholeness, and that our bodies, our consciousness, and the world are one energy.

That’s some deep shit right there. We won’t mess up the pronunciation ever again, OnenO. Promise.

CONSCIOUS MUSIC

Not only did I fudge the pronunciation, but I also found myself pondering his musical genre. Is he synth-pop? Electronic? Alternative? New Age? Something else? The short answer is that he is all of those things AND none of those things. Confused? Don’t be.

First off, we here at Nashville Unsigned don’t love the idea of declaring a musical genre. They force artists into figurative boxes that feel reductive and constrictive (see NU article “How Genres Got Dropped by the Label”). Secondly, OnenO has already identified his music, calling it “conscious”. We think that describes his music better than any pre-fabbed genre out there anyway.

TRANSCENDENTAL LYRICS

“Pure” pulls the listener in quickly, opening with a mid-tempo synth sound and vocals that make you think for a second you’re discovering either a Depeche Mode or INXS song you somehow missed when it was released a generation ago. His voice is somewhat serious and dark.

I got that pure blood and vision in my mind / I hear the silence that you can’t seem to find /

So take a good look and tell me what you see / It’s my promise you won’t hear this on TV /

I wanna be pure.

Then the refrain kicks in and everything changes. The song becomes more ethereal and transcendental; his voice becomes more calming and uplifting.

And I like to believe that you are listening / Yeah I like to believe that you are here with me /

Oh babe I’ll lift you up, lift you up / Take my hand and follow me / … /

Take my hand and come with me.

It’s sort of like how Alanis Morrisette transformed from angsty rock goddess into enlightened spiritual goddess almost exactly twenty years ago in her song “Thank U”, which she wrote about her personal growth following a trip to India.

Um, OneonO… you’ve performed with everyone from Gaga to Liz Phair to Kendrick Lamar (not to mention NU Class 5 alum Alaina Cross). Might I suggest an Alanis collab? Just sayin’… I think it would be a spiritual orgasm of music.

OnenO continues in the second verse:

And when you finally call me, I’ll be right by your side /

To show you that you’re worthy of the love you hide inside /

MEDITATION GURU

Is this guy for real?! He’s mad talented, sensitive, supportive, and deep AF! And it’s not just talk (er, sing?)! OneonO is the real deal!

In addition to being a musician, he is a certified Yogi! On his official website OneonO offers the experiences of music and meditation as ways to reach peace and awakening.

Consider us woke.

HIS GIFT TO THE WORLD

When you thought OneonO couldn’t be more PURE, you then learn that he’s giving away FREE downloads of “Pure.”

Yeah, you read that right.

With no financial backers and no label distribution, this indie artist and ‘master programmer of keyboards’ relies on donations from the big three: family, friends, and fans. Rather than commodify his art, he offers it freely. Music is his gift.