What does Yaelokre sound like?

Icelandic and English folk collide in a fantasy world.

The review of ‘Composing Colentine’ by Yaelokre

The world of Yaelokre must be a magical one. The singer-songwriter is easiest to define as a fantasy folk musician, but that feels like it’s selling the concept short. Each song and EP released tells a tale of its own, based on Yaelokre’s own fantasy series, MeadowLark. Whilst I’ve not read the series itself, it appears to be an exploration of different elements of Yaelorke’s own being. Part of that world is “The Lark”, a travelling musical quartet, and “The Harkers”, a group of storytellers. Whilst there may be fantastical themes in the lyrics, the music stands on its own two feet.

On their latest EP, ‘Composing Colentine’, Yaelokre (Keath Ósk) embraces a vibrant form of bard folk and references the potential relationship between two of the characters of “The Lark”. The opening track ‘My farewell to the fields” acts like a cinematic prelude. Between harmonium drones and a dynamic guitalele, Yaelokre uses their Filipino-Icelandic ancestry to balance the folk and the untethered fuel of nature as the vocals become emboldened and more passionate with each line. It’s a short two-minute track, but it crams a lot in and seamlessly transitions into ‘Bird cage blue and yellow’. This is how I’d imagine Joanna Newsom would tackle bard folk. There are tuned bells, rumbling rustic percussion, and a jaunty guitalele covering bird song. With a brattish English dialect that evokes a child-like anger, Yaelokre can change their voice to depict different characters through song. This transformation happens across the EP and is a quiet marvel for storytelling. As the track builds, strings and background chants flood in for the final minute to create something pagan folk lovers could dance to.

After we hear the two main characters’ origin songs, we move into the story itself. ‘Kid & Leveret’ switches perspectives, becoming the narrator of a story alongside two characters. All three chip in, and hearing Yaelokre’s different voices collide and tumble over each other is quite a marvel. There is such an uncurrent of momentum with this track that I can’t help but sing along with its rowdy chorus and vocalisations in the bridges. It has teen angst meets setting off on an adventure energy, wrapped up in a dark tavern vibe. It’s the kind of song you’d be able to put an “assemble before the big battle” montage over. ‘Cole’s Reponse’ is a short acoustic guitar and xylophone-led piece that is light, fluffy, and lets Yaelokre’s different vocals shine. Switching from an adult singing of a yearning heart to a child’s innocent perspective and giggling away is cute. It pairs beautifully with ‘Hearken’, which leaves the story as more than friends, but not quite lovers. The upbeat, euphoric folk nods to musical tropes, as well as Scottish and Irish folk-pop. It’s the most mainstream and approachable track, and features Yaelokre’s voice often doubled up to represent the two characters’ union.

This might be a bit of a hard sell for those who aren’t already into the illustrated stories of MeadowLark, but I’ve not read any of it (yet), and I still thoroughly enjoyed it. If you’ve heard any folk stories before, they tell of maidens searching for love, young men going on an adventure, and mysterious tales. This is no different, and the lyrics can still be applied to daily lives and struggles of the heart and soul. What continues to surprise me is just how dynamic and emotive the music is. The outro of ‘Hearken’ lets live drums, electric guitars, the cool not-a-lute guitalele, and various tuned percussion instruments jam away, whilst distant layered vocals shimmer like a dream. Many musicians whose sole artistic expression is music fail to capture the imagination or emotion this well. Yaelokre’s a triple threat that comes in cosplay and cute animals, too. Enjoyable.

Recommended track: Hearken

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