A Part of The Chaos is thrilled to announce the premiere of Sarah Gargano's latest music video for her single 'Red Solo Cup'. At its core, the creation and release of "Red Solo Cup" are a reaffirmation of Sarah's unwavering commitment to music and the power of sharing one's art.

Lena defiantly shrugs off the idea of making it in the music industry, ensuring it plays no role in her creative process and that her art speaks for itself. What is more important to her is writing and creating, free from the outside noise or influence: “I make art to make art, not to be apart of some industry. I’m my own industry and I don’t need certain reps or fancy names backing me in order to make me feel like I’m successful.”

Démira's own interpretation of Salai is that of a trickster, and “an intriguing person who is audacious, gorgeous and not fearful of taking risks. A sublime friend we all would like to have, one that makes your blood rush for a moment, who breaks the humdrum and heals it with excitement and adventure. A person who helps you find ways to flirt with life and win it over.”  Démira holds the belief that perhaps we all have a Salai in our lives; someone who’s personality overflows and at times challenges our perspective; all the while enriching our day to day and pushing us towards our lofty goals. 

There’s an unavoidable intersection between art and commerce; the necessary evil of promoting yourselves and remaining authentic to your vision. Handsome Ghost is not making music in a vacuum. Eddie acknowledged that he’d, “love to devote 100% of my energy to music, and in a lot of ways, thinking about that other stuff will hopefully get us to a place where we're able to do just that.” Ultimately the duo has chosen to embrace who they are, rather than buckle to the ebs and flow of the internet. But still, it’s hard not to see if the grass really isn’t greener, Tim added that, “at the end of the day social media is the best way to share our music...but it's difficult. All in all, we just try and do our best. But when I see bands doing it really well I think ‘man, that's like a whole other skill set beyond music that I just don't possess.’ It really is it's own art form at this point.”

By now we are all familiar with the pitfalls of social media and the side effects of scrolling through a highway of other people's highlight reels. As an artist trying to figure out how to live her life in the best way she can, Miette is no stranger to this. She told us, “In the age of information, it feels like we have too much access to other people's lives and we all choose to display only the best parts. I found myself looking at everyone seeming so happy and wanting to be like them but feeling like an outsider.” 

One of A Part of the Chaos’ favorite new artists we came across in this past year was Caroline Lazar, in particular, her song, ‘take it’. The song holds a deeper significance in the context of the global pandemic; knowing that we couldn’t see people outside of meticulously curated pods. The song amplifies the longing to see one another reach their peak - with the barriers this past year presented, the heartfelt and authentic lyrics of ‘take it’ hit even harder.

Despite the glaring sonic differences, we think there is a lot of overlap between Caroline and KennyHoopla so we messaged Caroline and tossed out the idea of filming her covering Estella. The first thing that drew Caroline’s attention towards KennyHoopla’s Estella was the lyrics: “I was immediately obsessed with the lyrics and the early 2000s vibe. It brings me straight to sitting on the school bus at 7am with my iPod touch, I absolutely love it.” When making her cover, Caroline welcomed the differences between her and KennyHoopla’s sound: “I generally lean towards more mellow and acoustic production, but I feel like the theme of this song is super similar to something I would write about. The absolute AGONY of being in love.”

“I don't think I fully understood "Don't Tell Me" when I was a kid, but on a more recent listen it occurred to me that it's about losing her virginity, or rather, choosing not to lose her virginity to someone who is pressuring her to. There's no one I wanted to be more than Avril Lavigne. As a role model to so many young girls, I think it's really cool of her to sing about having control of her body and her choices, but mostly I love the earnesty in these lyrics. The simplicity of "I'm gonna ask you to stop/I thought I liked you a lot/but I'm really upset" is heartbreaking! Avril, in general, was really good at being a teen writing about how hard it is to be a teen.”

In today’s world, it’s no secret that music has become increasingly disposable. Every week, single releases compete for playlist selections only to garner fleeting attention and be replaced by next week’s batch. With these often short lived- snackable digital releases dominating the music industry, many listeners are left wanting more….

In the modern age of influence peddling, Démira is no stranger to the insecurities and self doubt social media can evoke: “influencers - basically everybody on social media platforms - have the ability to alter other people's perceptions of a situation…[as a result] insecurities infect most of us while we are at the same time participants of the problem.” According to Démira, It’s because of this phenomenon that after scrolling through our feeds we’re left feeling like our lives are insufficient or not enough. Démira drew from these challenges when conceptualizing the Video for ‘New Voodoo’

"I just hit a point in my musical journey, in my search to find collaborators, where it just became obvious, that I needed to work in a space that made me feel safe and comfortable..I think you can feel that in the project itself, it feels like friendship, it feels like a home cooked meal"

For Caden Gray of Sob Sister, music is more than an artform. “My goal is always to create something that is authentic to myself and would serve as my own unique legacy if I left the Earth tomorrow - whether anyone pays attention or not.” Sob Sister’s newest premiere gives its listener a glimpse into a world of his creation.

Today we are thrilled to premiere, “Becoming What You’re Running From” by Touch Tunnel.  A song inspired by feeling stuck, growing older and reminiscing about the past. 

“Becoming What You’re Running From” is layered in contemplation, melancholia and an underlying resiliency…

Being an artist maneuvering through the music industry’s various systemic barriers, Charlotte Rose Benjamin is no stranger to sexism and discrimination. She told us that, “I get a lot of older men who think I may be marketable for one reason or another tell me to change my sound or style,” something which she refuses to do. “I would never sing someone else’s songs or put anything out that I’m not 100% behind. It’s the most blatant form of misogyny to assume that the honest voice of a 20 something year old woman isn’t of value because it maybe  isn’t something they can relate to.”

From time to time we’ll ask artists to curate a playlist for us, something that we feel helps give you a better understanding of what inspires them or drives them to create.

We are all a composition of our ancestors and past, less evolved versions of ourselves. Following the untimely death of Frightened Rabbits frontman Scott Hutchinson, Caitlin Marie Bell was inspired to write a song about who we are and where we come from. She believes that:

“Each of us carries the good and the bad of our family history, and with that comes a certain responsibility to care for and nurture who we are. However, I also like to believe that along with that responsibility comes the compassion, empathy, and forgiveness that has traveled from generation to generation.”