You thought you’d never leave - or even get the chance to. Merging half-assuredly onto the highway, the silence in your car slowly comes overwhelmed by the building rain, crescendoing on the steel roof above. Your heavy eyelids welcome the distraction, anything to keep you awake. Tracking the white-flickering dividing lines on either side, you can't help but think back, back to nighttime drives through wooded roads, your friends each making a case for sole control of a convenient store aux cord. Their campaigning went mostly unsuccessful because your assertion of driver's rights was typically received with no rebuttal from the gallery. The emptiness of the car screams loudly. Reaching for that same aux cord, you plug in, and enjoy escape’s uncertainty. 

It's no surprise the turmoil of this past year has left many reeling for simpler times. In spite of all the great music released in 2020, there is a reinvigorated longing for the warm comfort of nostalgia. The tortured beauty of  KennyHoopla’s music offers a fresh perspective on a classic sound. His seamless blend of the old and the new makes you want to text your high school friends: isn’t it crazy we didn’t drive around listening to this back then? Sharing in the shock that songs like ‘Hollywood Sucks’ and ‘how will I rest in peace when I’m buried by a highway’ are - in fact - not from 2005 or the soundtrack from Tony Hawk's Pro skater 2. 

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.”

In a continuation of our ‘Covers for a Cause’ series, Caroline has chosen to promote the Save the Music Foundation. Based in New York, their mission statement is: “to help students, schools, and communities reach their full potential through the power of making music. As one of the leading music foundations in the United States, we support our partner communities by donating instruments and music technology, advocating for musical education and providing support services for teachers.”

When asked why she chose to promote the Save the Music Foundation, Caroline explained that, “Last fall I started my own music school called ‘Bungalow’, and have seen first hand the power that music education has to help kids during difficult times. It’s so important to me that every child has the opportunity to explore their creativity through music.” If you’d like to donate to this wonderful cause you can do so at: https://www.savethemusic.org/