I didn’t know it was possible for a song to embody a color so perfectly until I listened to “red” by KAI and Mei Semones. Just like the color it’s named after, this 6-minute journey of a track is bold and passionate, taking you through a complicated mess of emotions surrounding love, longing, and rage.

Produced entirely by KAI himself, “red” has distinct sections that sound so different from each other – jazz, indie pop, hyperpop, rock – and yet it forms a seamless story that captures both the hopeless feeling of an unreciprocated love and the all-consuming madness that follows. The song was released alongside short film ANYTHING YOU WANT directed by Ben See-Tho and KAI, which brings the entire story to visual life.

Cupertino-raised, NYC-based KAI is finally beginning to gain the recognition he rightfully deserves, nearly tripling his monthly Spotify listeners in just these past 2 weeks. He is a producer, audio engineer, singer, and songwriter – the epitome of a multi-talented artist who simply can’t be placed in a box. What I love about his work is that he doesn’t shy away from the complexities of his experiences and identity: an Asian-American, a brother, an artist. I’m so excited for the world to see the rest of his project “tungsten” | You’re So Loved, and for all of us to get to know his mind.