Hemlock
wants us to stay in touch
On her intimate debut album, Talk Soon, the singer-songwriter also known as Carolina Chauffe weaves her relatives’ voices into cross-country folk songs to tell a story of love, family, and connection.
Carolina Chauffe, aka Hemlock ERIK KOMMER
By TASHA VIETS-VANLEAR
C
arolina Chauffe doesn’t like to stay in one place for very long. Some of the most dramatic turns on her life’s path have been unplanned— she’s driven by what she calls “Coincidence with a capital C.” She thrives in uncharted territory, lured by a stretch of road, a door held open six states away, or the pulsing possibility of new love. A year ago, one
32 CHICAGO READER - MARCH 17, 2022
such coincidence led her to Chicago. Chauffe, who makes music as Hemlock, has been writing songs for ten years—ever since she bought a guitar off Craigslist at age 13. Born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, and molded by church choirs and chamber choirs in her school days, she appreciates the power of a song sung among friends and loved ones. In 2018, Chauffe bought a nylon-string
OPTIONS, ALLEGRA KRIEGER, HEMLOCK Wed 3/23, 9:30 PM, the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $12, 21+
guitar from her friend Dylan Babineaux, and its softer, more tender strings immediately transformed the way she played and wrote songs. Soon Babineaux offered to record a tape of Chauffe’s demos on his four-track, and her project Hemlock was born. Chauffe hasn’t stopped writing songs since, with a pace and fluency that can only be described as prolific. She’s still never recorded
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