On January 22, Florida-based vocalist Ona K will release Full, New, Luna, the follow up to her 2022 album Mirage. In anticipation of the album’s release, she has already released three singles, with three more slated through the beginning of the new year.
Full, New, Luna is an evolution of the same concepts that inspired Mirage. Truly a citizen of the world, Ona has lived in Barcelona, Spain, India, United Kingdom, and Austria, and has travelled extensively as well. It’s those travels – she refers to herself as a “migrant bird in search of beauty and growth”—along with a personal experience of change that were reflected on that debut album. On Full, New, Luna, Ona further explores the power of feminine energy. “The moon, Luna, is a symbol that connects with our cycles, the ones that mold our female bodies, as well as our souls and our minds,” she explains. “I feel that women are better at finding power in vulnerability, which is something we need in our world today.”
The album’s first single, “Luna Lleva, Luna Nueva,” dropped on October 16 and directly reflects that philosophy. It’s sung in Spanish, Ona’s first language. “I chose to include bilingual tracks to reflect my identity as a migrant. It doesn’t matter what my passport says, I’ll always be both Spanish and American, as my heart has been deeply touched by both cultures,” she explains. “I feel like there is still a lot of stigmas attached to that and I’d like my music to help empower people to celebrate their multiculturality.”
“Let It Be a Whisper,” also released in October, is a deeply personal exploration of Ona’s work to overcome the PTSD she experienced because of childhood and adult abuse. Richly orchestrated, the track layers a smooth R&B-flavored vibe over a beautiful bed of violins, viola and vionicello. “About two years after my divorce, I realized that I was finally happy,” she says. “ Flashbacks will come from time to time but began to bother me less. My therapist said, ‘Let them be a whisper in your ear. It’s fading because he doesn’t have power over you anymore.’ And this song was born from that place.”
Among the upcoming singles is “Little Beast,” which will kick off 2024 on January 1. The track features some funky scatting and soaring vocals reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s “Twisted.” “Another theme I explore in my album is mental health from a positive, and often a spiritual, perspective,” Ona states. “This song talks about the ‘little beast’ we all have in our heads, the part of us trying to undermine any happiness or self-confidence we might achieve. The lyrics tell us to stop feeding that little beast in our heads and to start leading into our hearts, so we can see, and fly, and enjoy the good things in life.”
Joining Ona on Full, New, Luna are 19 musicians, including all three members of La Lucha, who also accompanied her on Mirage: bassist Alejandro Arenas, keyboardist John O’Leary and drummer Mark Feinman. “I expanded on that trio accompaniment for several reasons,” Ona explains. “It was especially important to me that every song was the musicians’ own unique universe, so the rhythm section was different for each tune. The string quartet and the background vocalists—either the same two singers or me – are the same throughout, and this is what ties the album together. I also wanted to showcase as many musicians as I could, giving them the opportunity to work with their own sounds. That could have been extremely challenging, since I wrote or arranged almost everything, leaving little opportunity for improvisation, especially with so many musicians playing at the same time. I’m incredibly happy overall with how we managed that.”
Born in Barcelona, singer, composer, and arranger Ona K—whose last name is Kirei—studied piano, becoming fascinated with classical composers from the Romantic and Impressionistic periods such as Chopin, Satie, and Tchaikovsky. Her father introduced her to Ella Fitzgerald, who impressed the young Ona with her freedom and playfulness and inspired young girl’s love for American jazz. Now, citing influences as wide ranging as Richard Bona, bassist Avishai Cohen, Tori Amos and the Spanish singer Silvia Perez Cruz, it’s no surprise that Ona’s music pushes stylistic boundaries. It is born in the roots of descriptive cinematic music, connected to poetry (in English and Spanish), with a voice and arrangements that navigate between R&B, jazz, and a string quartet that is rooted in her classical origins. In her travels, she has performed to critical acclaim in venues and festivals across Europe and the United States, winning several national and international awards. Most recently, she received the Palladium Theater Creative Class Grant.
Ona created her new project, Full, New, Luna, with two very conscious goals in mind: First, she wants to strengthen the local music community she loves—bringing greater visibility to its soulful musicians. Second, connecting herself and her audience to the powerful and intimate cycles of nature, the cycles of feminine energy, of the Moon, of Earth’s renewal, she strives to inspire invites her audiences to connect with love and pride around femininity, immigration, spirituality, and healing and growth.
Full, New, Luna is an evolution of the same concepts that inspired Mirage. Truly a citizen of the world, Ona has lived in Barcelona, Spain, India, United Kingdom, and Austria, and has travelled extensively as well. It’s those travels – she refers to herself as a “migrant bird in search of beauty and growth”—along with a personal experience of change that were reflected on that debut album. On Full, New, Luna, Ona further explores the power of feminine energy. “The moon, Luna, is a symbol that connects with our cycles, the ones that mold our female bodies, as well as our souls and our minds,” she explains. “I feel that women are better at finding power in vulnerability, which is something we need in our world today.”
The album’s first single, “Luna Lleva, Luna Nueva,” dropped on October 16 and directly reflects that philosophy. It’s sung in Spanish, Ona’s first language. “I chose to include bilingual tracks to reflect my identity as a migrant. It doesn’t matter what my passport says, I’ll always be both Spanish and American, as my heart has been deeply touched by both cultures,” she explains. “I feel like there is still a lot of stigmas attached to that and I’d like my music to help empower people to celebrate their multiculturality.”
“Let It Be a Whisper,” also released in October, is a deeply personal exploration of Ona’s work to overcome the PTSD she experienced because of childhood and adult abuse. Richly orchestrated, the track layers a smooth R&B-flavored vibe over a beautiful bed of violins, viola and vionicello. “About two years after my divorce, I realized that I was finally happy,” she says. “ Flashbacks will come from time to time but began to bother me less. My therapist said, ‘Let them be a whisper in your ear. It’s fading because he doesn’t have power over you anymore.’ And this song was born from that place.”
Among the upcoming singles is “Little Beast,” which will kick off 2024 on January 1. The track features some funky scatting and soaring vocals reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s “Twisted.” “Another theme I explore in my album is mental health from a positive, and often a spiritual, perspective,” Ona states. “This song talks about the ‘little beast’ we all have in our heads, the part of us trying to undermine any happiness or self-confidence we might achieve. The lyrics tell us to stop feeding that little beast in our heads and to start leading into our hearts, so we can see, and fly, and enjoy the good things in life.”
Joining Ona on Full, New, Luna are 19 musicians, including all three members of La Lucha, who also accompanied her on Mirage: bassist Alejandro Arenas, keyboardist John O’Leary and drummer Mark Feinman. “I expanded on that trio accompaniment for several reasons,” Ona explains. “It was especially important to me that every song was the musicians’ own unique universe, so the rhythm section was different for each tune. The string quartet and the background vocalists—either the same two singers or me – are the same throughout, and this is what ties the album together. I also wanted to showcase as many musicians as I could, giving them the opportunity to work with their own sounds. That could have been extremely challenging, since I wrote or arranged almost everything, leaving little opportunity for improvisation, especially with so many musicians playing at the same time. I’m incredibly happy overall with how we managed that.”
Born in Barcelona, singer, composer, and arranger Ona K—whose last name is Kirei—studied piano, becoming fascinated with classical composers from the Romantic and Impressionistic periods such as Chopin, Satie, and Tchaikovsky. Her father introduced her to Ella Fitzgerald, who impressed the young Ona with her freedom and playfulness and inspired young girl’s love for American jazz. Now, citing influences as wide ranging as Richard Bona, bassist Avishai Cohen, Tori Amos and the Spanish singer Silvia Perez Cruz, it’s no surprise that Ona’s music pushes stylistic boundaries. It is born in the roots of descriptive cinematic music, connected to poetry (in English and Spanish), with a voice and arrangements that navigate between R&B, jazz, and a string quartet that is rooted in her classical origins. In her travels, she has performed to critical acclaim in venues and festivals across Europe and the United States, winning several national and international awards. Most recently, she received the Palladium Theater Creative Class Grant.
Ona created her new project, Full, New, Luna, with two very conscious goals in mind: First, she wants to strengthen the local music community she loves—bringing greater visibility to its soulful musicians. Second, connecting herself and her audience to the powerful and intimate cycles of nature, the cycles of feminine energy, of the Moon, of Earth’s renewal, she strives to inspire invites her audiences to connect with love and pride around femininity, immigration, spirituality, and healing and growth.
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