Karylle says yes to more collaborations

MANILA, Philippines — Being married to a songwriter for years can squeeze your creative juices to the max.

Take the case of singer-host-actress Karylle, whose husband, Yael Yuzon, is vocalist-guitarist of Sponge Cola band. Karylle finished her latest song, It’s Christmastime, at Yael’s songwriting camp for FILSCAP (The Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Inc.). The song is still available on digital download platforms.

The sight of a dozen aspiring songwriters finishing their compositions overnight at the camp challenged Karylle no end. She felt one with the student songwriters who had a deadline to meet.

It also helped that the songwriting camp was in picturesque Tagaytay.

Karylle doesn’t claim all the credit to herself.

Indonesian singer-songwriter Calvin Jeremy, whom she first met in an awards night for music in Singapore two years ago, wrote the male part of the song.

The musical bond between Karylle and Calvin was instant.

Spending the holiday break in the US with husband Yael Yuzon. —Photo from Karylle’s Instagram

“We’ve been planning to collaborate for a year,” recalls Karylle. “I’d finish half a song and send it to him.”

Calvin himself is no stranger to songwriting. He’s been at it since 2010 and has released his third album. He easily warmed up to the idea of co-writing the bouncy song.

A Christmas-themed song is right up Karylle’s alley, too. To her, the holiday season has the same magic that makes it special for many of us. It brings back many happy childhood memories.

To her, it means the fresh smell of pine trees in Baguio, where she spent many happy Christmases with her family. It also means caroling from village to village and raising enough money to buy a lung machine for the Ospital ng Maynila.

The season has a way of bringing out the best in Karylle.

“I wanted to knock at the neighbor’s door last night and go caroling,” she smiles. 

Karylle also relates how a lively Christmas song made her feel better when she felt under the weather.

“I was with my nephew and nieces that Sunday. I just danced!” she adds.

Karylle has returned the favor Calvin (he was in the Philippines to shoot the music video) granted by visiting Jakarta to promote their song.

She’s now in the US spending the holidays with her grandparents and Yael’s “tons of relatives” there.

Once she comes back home, Karylle will buckle down to work again, not just as host but as songwriter.

“You’ll see more collaborations, one of them with Sponge Cola,” she promises. 

Not bad for someone who used to e-mail people and ask if they’d like to collaborate on a song with her.

It’s Karylle’s way of scaling new heights as a budding musician. It’s also her way of telling the world, “Bring it on! I’m here to give it my all!”