Dayton band T.Kao returned to the WYSO studios to perform selections from their recent album Rare Earth and to chat with Kaleidoscope music host Juliet Fromholt.
There is a 15 year gap between this album and their first, Old Music for Young Hearts. Prior to that release, band leader Tim Kao was living and working in China and that's where a lot of his songwriting took place.
"So some of the songs [on Rare Earth] were songs I didn't get to on the first album. You know, I think that's, in hindsight, I think, that's probably a good thing, because with time, you have the experience and those songs began to make sense in the later years. So they weren't ready for prime time then, but I revisited a lot of those songs over the years." says Kao.
15 years can create a lot of change in an individual person, let alone the world around them. These songs Kao wrote over the years act as a sort of time capsule for his aspirations and feelings.
"When I listened to the lyrics of that old batch of songs, I hear youth for sure." says Kao. "Whereas when I listen back to this new batch of songs I hear an older guy kind of clinging to his youth, reminiscing about his youth. I think that we all do that when we get a little bit older and I like that quality in those songs. There's a yearning there I think for maybe a time that has passed and and my youth."
T.Kao's album Rare Earth is out now and is available to stream and purchase on Apple Music.
