Kai Del Rio reintroduces herself with ‘evolved’ sound

Kai Del Rio, formerly known as Kai Honasan, continues her journey as a singer-songwriter with the release of Ang Nag-iisa and Storm Like Me today, Sept. 13, at Sari Sari Cocktails in Makati City.

The singles signal a turning point in the artist’s sound and a reintroduction of herself.

The STAR had a virtual one-on-one with “The Voice of the Philippines” Season 2 semi-finalist, who generously shared her thoughts about her latest creative outputs and hinted at what she could add to the ever-thriving Original Pilipino Music (OPM) scene.

“(I really had) a mix of emotions because the last time people heard me, I was only 21,” said Kai of her return to the recording music scene. “I’m nervous, but I’m really excited to reintroduce myself.”

Part of that is presenting herself, especially to the new generation of music enthusiasts, as “Kai Del Rio,” and offering new music that she will explore and expand.

“Ayoko naman na parang new name, tapos pareho lang yung sound ng music (I don’t want, you know, the idea of being introduced with a new name and then my sound is the same),” added she, who tied the knot back in 2018.

“I feel like I’m a completely different human being from when I started out. I mean, you go through so many changes as a person, not just as a woman, as a person in your 20s, and as a creative person, it comes out in your art.”

Kai Del Rio (offers) a much more mature sound and is a much more mature person. She has experienced a lot in life that she wants to share,’ says she.

Her new songs will be a contrast to the “happy-go-lucky,” joyful and ukulele-accompanied tunes, about heartbreaks and falling in love, which she has had before.

“I did so much different work as a musician, I got married, parang itong Kai Del Rio naman is a much more mature sound, a much more mature person, ang dami na niyang life experience na gusto kong i-kwento (she has experienced a lot in life that she wants to share).”

Kai accomplishes that through her songwriting, which she described as “the best way I know how to express and share whatever I’m up to.”

Asked what kept her busy during the singing-and songwriting hiatus, Kai answered, “I actually wasn’t completely out of the music scene if you kinda follow the indie music scene. I was in a band for eight years, pero hindi ako frontman per se. I would sing but I was more of behind (the scenes), I mean, that’s what I also wanted.”

After her stint in “The Voice of the Philippines,” giving her the time to see her solo career grow, as one may describe it, Kai embarked on a musical journey by joining a band where she was playing keyboards.

“Everything was fun, and then, it turned into my job. Parang na-swerte na lang rin ako dun na I was never really gone from the scene, but it gave me enough time to kind of rediscover what I really like,” said she.

“You know what are the things in the music scene that I kind of want to participate in, kung ano yung music… kasi rock yung banda.”

Playing in different bars and places also gave her the creative space to ponder about what she wanted to do if ever she came back.

So, Kai dabbled in different parts of the music scene as a session keyboard player, who had the chance to work with Sponge Cola.

All this is part of the story of the new Kai, said the artist, who has come up with the new songs, Ang Nag-iisa and Storm Like Me.

According to her, she had the title “Ang Nag-iisa” 10 years ago and set it aside as part of an album in the future.

When the pandemic came, Kai explored again writing for her solo songs and revisited the idea of Ang Nag-iisa.

She recalled that most people did go through a lot during the pandemic times, and anger and pain were some of the dominant emotions and emotional experiences at that time.

“And then, so, I started writing the song, and when I wrote it, parang sabi ko ito ata yung parang purpose nung title na yan, just to bring forth yung painful emotions in a song,” said she.

“And then, dun ko parang na figure out ito ata yung bago kong sound (that’s how I figured out my new sound), it’s piano-based and a bit of rock. Tapos, when I brought in my brother Karel Honasan to produce it, sabi ko, ‘OK. Ito na ata yung tunog ko.’ It feels like the me of now.”

A few months later, Kai wrote Storm Like Me and thought of making it into a ballad to balance the heavy feel of Ang Nag-iisa.

“As a songwriter, I feel like I need to have an angry song, I need to have a ballad in my repertoire when I perform again,” said she.

“I wrote it (Storm Like Me) very fast, 10 to 15 minutes. It felt like I was writing in my diary lang na, you know the general sadness when you’re going through something, and then, when I wrote it, I didn’t edit it, as in yun na yun. That was it. One time I told myself, ‘I want this song to be as raw as possible, as vulnerable and as raw as possible,” shared she.

And from a fangirl perspective, Kai dreams that one day Regine Velasquez will make a cover of Storm Like Me.

“Like what I would say in previous interviews, if ma-cover ito ni Ms. Regine, sobrang saya ko na (If Ms. Regine will make a cover of the song, it will make me very, very happy)… sana lang mapunta ito sa radar niya at tapos makanta niya.”

Also on Kai’s wish list is that the Asia’s Songbird will have a cover version of Ang Nag-iisa. Well, dreams do come true.

(To get tickets to Kai’s double single launch, visit bit.ly/kaidrlaunch.)