Dealing with depression, anxiety and loneliness can be very consuming and exhausting. The World Health Organisation estimates more than 300 million people suffer from this worldwide. While we have therapies available to help our fellow humans come out of it, the stigma of being judged pulls them back from reaching out or even talking about it. This needed to change and that change is the ONEmpire band, formerly known as The Other People.
What is ONEmpire all about?
ONEmpire is a power-packed team of 5 members- Zarir Warden on vocals, guitarist Gavin Cason, keyboardist Garth D’Mello, drummer Atish Thomas and bassist Loy Henriques. In a rendezvous with Zarir Warden, he shared why and how they changed from The Other People to ONEmpire band. The former was always labelled as a Retro band and they thought they should break out and do something new and different. Their agenda behind this change is just as beautiful and reassuring as their songs. They wanted people dealing with depression and loneliness to know they are not alone in this battle. They don’t have to be ashamed but just ask for help.
What are their songs about?
Their first single Shine a light has been a huge hit and close to people’s hearts for endless reasons. It has a pop/rock feel to it, powerful lyrics which gives a sense of comfort, an extremely humming tune to it which is easy to recall, the simplicity of the video and most importantly it gives a message to people that there is a ray of hope always, you just have to believe.
They have their second single, which is a part of the EP Humanity, releasing on 26th October named Run to you. Zarir expressed how this song is the most favourite and closest to his heart out of all the songs he has written. It sends out a message of reassurance to people that no one is ever completely alone and that they always will have someone who would cross oceans at the drop of a hat to see them do better. Every day we hear about depression claiming the lives of people from all walks of life. This song has a modern pop/rock vibe to it, big anthem-like sound with a very easy melody and sing-along chorus and they hope to connect with people through this track expressed Zarir.
Why we need more bands like these?
Music therapy is the apt choice considering a majority of fatal cases of depression come from not talking about it to anyone and dealing with it all by oneself. You don’t have to go out of your way, music will come to you. It is the most commonly accepted, practised and a disguised yet powerful therapy for people in need or looking for a push.
When asked about how the journey has been so far, Zarir said-
“Our debut single titled Shine a light has got great reviews so far! We were featured on the BBC Asian Network radio station in London and now as of a few days ago, Shine a light has been chosen for, released in and one of the lead single on a UK compilation charity album music minds which is for Mental Health Awareness. So things are definitely working well and we felt now would be a good time to release our second single!”
We’re super excited and eagerly looking forward to the release of Run to you on 26th October, how about you?
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