Filipino-Icelandic storyteller and folk artist Keath Ósk, known as Yaelokre, has described the heart of their new single “Kamahalan” as “the power to see the world through the eyes of a child”.
The song’s release marks an important chapter in Yaelokre’s growing mythos, finally completing the origin tales of four central characters in their story-driven universe while rekindling the childlike wonder that has defined their work.
The world of Meadowlark
Last year, the niche corner of the internet that celebrates folk music, wonderment, and fantasy discovered the world of Meadowlark, a vibrant place inside the Yaelokre universe that is “full of story and song, never without melody”.
It also serves as the setting for the wider project’s worldbuilding.
There, Keath Ósk, masked as a hare and wielding a weathered blue guitar-lele, sang in shifting voices about the ‘Harpy Hare’, asking where she buried her children.
The tale immediately spread like wildfire, with its fairytale-esque song reaching 114 million views on YouTube and creating a whole fandom.
Ósk later released Yaelokre’s first EP, Hayfields, which explored the lore of four main characters who exist as a musical group: Cole Seymour (masked as a hare), Clément Dearworth (masked as a goat), Peregrine August (masked as a goose), and Kingsley (masked as a tree).
These children, according to Ósk, are drawn from the singer’s own childhood.
In Hayfields, they sing about the non-chronological lore of the Meadowlark and the stories of the ‘Cradles’ they represent: The Harkers, comprising the Story-teller, the Bell-ringer, the Enkindled, and the Croon.
“They voice to perform in their stead to remark on narrative and with it offer parables played in song,” Yaelokre explained on their website.
“To sing of fables retold and unsung, truth to make-believe, fostering the very same aria that brought them to existence; our ability to wield wonder.”
The album was a success, especially for an independent artist who once performed in a bar with 20 audience members, and eventually led to them opening for Norwegian pop artist Aurora in the Philippines in January, in front of more than 3,000 people.
This incredible leap from internet fame to having a real-life audience resulted in a contract with Atlantic Records.
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The origins of “Kamahalan”
“Take it far, give it a name. Places forget, stories remember,” Yaelokre said in a video introducing Origins, the project that includes “Kamahalan” amongst its tracks.
In a matter of three days, the song has drawn over 174,000 views on YouTube.
It focuses on Kingsley, the youngest of the Lark and the one who represents The Croon’s chaos.
At its heart, “Kamahalan” captures Yaelokre’s artistic philosophy of making little children happy by celebrating child-like wonderment.
The lyrics refer to children as ‘Kamahalan’, a Filipino word for ‘majesty’, but the root word, ‘mahal’, also means ‘love’ or ‘loved’.
Moreover, the song tells them to be unafraid, to dance, and to shout: “Bata, bata, wag kang matakot / Isigaw at sumayaw, ika’y umikot / Maghintay o mangalok o makalimot / Ikaw ang kamahalan, kamahalan.”
(In English: “Child, child, don’t be afraid / Shout and dance, let yourself spin / Wait, reach out, or forget / You are the majesty, the royalty.”)
The release of “Kamahalan”, which Ósk promoted through internet skits and art prompts, finally completes Yaelokre’s second EP since Hayfields.
It is also the only song in their whole discography that is written in pure Filipino.
Currently, Ósk is bringing the Meadowlark to life on their Foreword Tour, which continues across Europe and the United States.
Tour dates and venues are available on their official website.
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Shameeka Voyiya 
Carmela Calling