If you ever feel as if music has lost its capacity for surprise, the beguiling wonder and infinite creativity of Yaelokre will respark your belief. The Filipino-Icelandic artist – real name Keath Ósk (they/it) – fuses three imaginative strands to their visionary expression: intimate, innocent folk infused with leftfield surrealism and instant pop accessibility; artwork which is intricately detailed and beautifully alluring; and storytelling which brings personal experience and poetry into rich, fable-like narratives. What’s more, all three of these elements are crafted by this one visionary artist.

The scale of the fantastical world they have created is vast, both in terms of narrative and lore. But its essence is relatively simple. The songs are set in the fictional world of Meadowlark and chart the adventures of four masked children who comprise a musical ensemble known at The Lark: Cole Seymour, Clémente Dearworth, Peregrine August, and Kingsley. They perform as representatives of The Harkers, mythical beings who express the fundamental principles of nature, wonder and chaos. What’s more, Yaelokre voices all of the different characters within their universe.

This immersive, escapist story is largely inspired by Yaelokre’s own life. The four Larks represent different stages of their childhood, and writing their songs felt cathartic for their creator. As Yaelokre explains, “Their stories are way for me to cut myself up into pieces, so I can tackle the smaller issues easily rather than going full-on into the big problems straight-up. This project revolves around lessons that I’ve learned from life, and each song has a lesson.”

Those recurring lessons vary in nature, but those wisdoms all feel like universal truths. “The main lesson is to listen, be kind and spread compassion. Be courageous. Do not let yourself be fenced in. Chaos is natural, and it’s not always a bad thing. You have to mind the past so you can find a better future. You need to be open-minded. And most importantly, you need to live in the moment: now is more important than anything.”

And while on first listen there’s a childlike innocence to the project, you only need to scratch the surface of its lyrics to reveal flashes of gothic horror which reflect the savagery of the natural world.

While that’s all fascinating, you may also feel that from what we’ve revealed that Yaelokre’s artistry is for a very niche audience. This couldn’t be more wrong. Since debuting the project in January 2024, Yaelkore has released seven tracks which have already amassed 180 million streams at Spotify. Their following is also fervently passionate, with huge engagement at TikTok from their 1.5 million followers, a vast 50-page fan-created Wiki, and a sub-Reddit packed with theories, fan art and cosplay.

That interest is sure to be intensified exponentially with the new single ‘Cole’s Response’.  It’s both captivating and a curiosity as Yaelokre brings these characters to life with a vocal of pure expression and idiosyncratic cadence, as well as their engaging voice acting. All much like a 16th century minstrel recast into the streaming age.

As for the song’s theme, they explain: “It is Cole’s response to Clémente’s affection. Sometimes when you cannot comprehend something, it gets very overwhelming, in this case Cole as a child is experiencing a sort of ‘puppy love’ for the first time. They do not fully understand what it is just yet, the song is written as though Cole is suffocating, but at the end of it realises that it doesn’t really matter, and everything is okay.”

‘Cole’s Response’ will feature on the upcoming ‘Composing Colentine’ EP. It will add another new song, ‘Hearken’, alongside three previously released tracks which go deeper into Cole and Clémente’s back stories: ‘Kid & Leveret’, ‘My farewells to the fields’ and ‘Bird cage blue and yellow’. The latter incorporates Filipino and Icelandic lyrics into the song, which nods to their family heritage. It’s also representative of Yaelokre’s desire to never be boxed in or creatively stagnant, and they assert that further genres, themes and language will be infused into their artistic style as the project progresses.

Long before becoming Yaelokre, Keath Ósk was raised by a Filipino mother who would sing in competitions to raise money for the family, and by an Icelandic father who introduced them to his love of illustration, fantasy and folklore. Although an only child, Keath never felt like one because of a close-knit group of friends. They remain in their life now, and they’re visibly emotional at the prospect of leaving for London and being separated from them as their career takes shape. As remarkable as their many talents are, Keath never had the opportunity to study music, art or storytelling – it was more a case of putting in the 10,000 hours needed to teach themselves to become a true polymath.

The Yaelokre name is an approximated portmanteau of yellow and ochre: the two warm colours being the dominant palette of much of their artwork. “That colour is how I envisioned the feeling of nostalgia to be,” they explain. “Most of my memories as a child I have a tint in my eyes like I’m wearing glasses, so that’s what I see.”

Their debut track ‘Hartebeest’ established the grassroots of a following, before things went global with ‘Harpy Hare’. At first, Yaelokre was torn by the attention. “I later realised that the reason I’m doing this project is for the people who are willing to understand.  Especially with the wonderful fanbase, they’re creative and dedicated, and know that the main thing is to be kind and understanding.”

While the confrontational tone of much of social media can be draining, the Wonderfolk fandom feels a happy exception. It’s easy to imagine that for many, the community is a safe space for outsiders and an escape from the stresses of daily life. And whether Yaelkore is talking about their art or their fanbase, the word compassion recurs like a mantra.

The potential for Yaelokre is plain to see, its arresting hybrid of music, imagery and folklore both lending itself to a wide-range of artistic mediums and making for a live show quite unlike anything else. For Keath, Yaelokre presents an opportunity to fulfil multiple ambitions via one artistic outlet.

“I never imagined this would happen,” Keath notes, beaming from ear-to-ear. “The closest thing that I thought was possible would be telling stories to little children while they were sitting in front of me at the library. That was my dream. I wanted to be a storyteller. I wanted to read stories. I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher and I wanted to voice act. Now to think I get to do this with so many people, not just children but adults too, it’s all so wonderful. I just love it. There are so many possibilities!”