Exploring identity and change in a song that embraces you like a warm hug. Brooklyn-based singer Caro Juna has just recently self-released her latest single “Home” – a dreamy track beaming of the realisation that we’re all going through the same thing. “We’re all lonely people trying to find our way”, she says on her Instagram. For this instalment of the Cultural Connection, KALTBLUT caught up again with Caro to chat about the release and how culture intersects with her work.
KALTBLUT: Tell me about your latest release.
Caro: This song stems from recent changes in my life where the same thoughts that might have been impediments and sources of anxiety in the past have transformed to become liberating for me as an artist.
The same feelings of rapid change and competition in NYC used to make me feel overwhelmed and stuck, but now I feel like I am able to channel that same feeling of insignificance and impermanence into something beautiful, into something quite freeing.
If you listen to the song, the lyrics stay the same throughout, but the chords change to completely open up into something more positive and more beautiful, and it tells a story of how to find pockets of optimism in a difficult and tragic world.
KALTBLUT: What kind of cultural and/ or musical influences were you inspired by when recording/ writing this release?
Caro: When I was originally writing this song, I was inspired by Sega Bodega’s music because I was listening to his lyrics and I thought – wow, something so beautiful can be crafted from something so simple! In that vein, I started the track with a simple, seemingly infinite loop, and it just grew and grew and changed over time.
The song also coincides with AAPI heritage month because my many inner insecurities about my Asian American identity have transformed over the years as I’ve matured and grown in my art to help me find a way to feel extremely proud to be Asian – and I hope it helps so many others realise that ultimately, we are all the same… and we are all trying to find a way home.
KALTBLUT: How would you describe your sound?
Caro: Ooo that’s hard! Maybe ethereal and gentle pop? A warm hug? Haha, I want my sound to be whatever whoever listens to it wants it to be.
Because what is art if it isn’t a snapshot of our universal human condition?
KALTBLUT: How does culture/ your surroundings/ society intersect with your creative work?
Caro: I think even if I start a project without thinking too much about my culture or my surroundings, it always inevitably becomes intertwined – because what is art if it isn’t a snapshot of our universal human condition? If I’m grappling with questions about identity and my place in the world, chances are, everyone around me is as well. I think all the best art is specific but universal – and there is always something for anyone to relate to.
Stream Caro Juna’s latest release “Home” here and keep up with upcoming releases on her Instagram at @caro.juna.
You can revisit all Cultural Connection interviews at #TheCulturalConnection here.
If you liked this interview, revisit our long-read interview with Caro from April, 2021 below.
