Ladies We Love: Emily Kopp’s Music Benefits Children’s Healthcare

April 8th, 2016 • BY Morgan Tilton

Behind her bluesy-pop and poetic acoustics, musician and songwriter Emily Kopp uses her music as a vehicle of change. A seasoned performer—she’s graced the stage with Matchbox 20, Michelle Branch and ZZ Ward to name a few—Kopp’s most recent EP single, “Chasing Streetlights,” is downloadable via Cadence and Cause, a digital platform that enables musicians to sell their music in support of charitable causes around the world.

Kopp chose to funnel the proceeds towards children’s medical care in Third World countries. For every 50 cents that the single receives in sales, one child is provided with the medications he or she needs to fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), for an entire year. More than 1 billion people—one-sixth of the world’s population—suffer from one or more NTDs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Following the drop of the EP, Making Sense Of, Kopp launched into a nonconventional promotional tour: backpacking around the world to spread her stage name grassroots style while harnessing new experiences, relationships and sounds to create future songs. Here, Womens Movement caught up with Kopp about her new EP single, philanthropy, girlfriend and global travels.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

 

After your new EP launched in December, you dove into a global backpacking trip with your girlfriend—how did you two start the journey?

We made a two-week stop first, in Hawaii. We thought it would be a fun way to break up the long flight to New Zealand. I had the pleasure of playing in Maui, as well as flying to Honolulu for a private house show.

It’s been an amazing adventure so far. Being able to merge my love for travel while sharing music at the same time is one of the best parts. Then we flew into Auckland, NZ, where we will be for two months before flying to Bangkok, Thailand.

 

Tell us about your girlfriend.

M’ lady’s name is Robyn. She is an extremely creative chef. Her career has taken her from opening seafood restaurants throughout the East Coast.

Then, she became an executive chef for large luxury hotels around the U.S. Her most recent role was in health care and education, which brought her to Ethiopia for a short time to help educate children on safe and healthy eating habits.

 

What have been the highlights of your trip so far?

A major highlight was the Road to Hana in Maui. We took a 6-hour day trip, which was incredibly windy, on the mountainous Hana Highway. We stopped at waterfalls, hiking trails, arboretums and swimming holes.

Then, we traveled to Honolulu for a very special house show, where I performed. It was a beautiful night out on the lawn, underneath the stars. Anytime I get to share music, meet, and connect with new people I feel beyond grateful and fulfilled. Our favorite part, however, is the spontaneity of it all.

 

Do you have the trip planned or are you mapping it out as you go?

We have a general route in mind, but we are booking our flights as we go. Some details of the trip are planned ahead of time: where we will stay, what we absolutely want to do and see, and if I will play any shows. Otherwise, most of our journey is improvised.

 

Which countries do you plan to visit and why?

After Hawaii, we decided to begin our travels in New Zealand, as it will be summertime there. We’re looking forward to attending the first Auckland City Limits Music Festival in March. We will head to Southeast Asia, next, because the routing makes sense and we both want to explore that region and culture.

Why did you decide to go on a backpacking trip right after releasing an EP?

The two sort of merged. Long-term backpacking has always been a personal goal of mine, and the timeline of releasing this EP was at the end of 2015.

I had been touring the U.S. with my band for several years, and plan to tour abroad in the future. However, traveling for leisure with no hard plans is a dream adventure.

Our plan for this trip began about 10 months prior. I thought, why not combine the two? The band and I filmed a live farewell concert in Orlando, FL (to be released later in 2016) and then I released the EP. I am in essence also touring the world in support of the EP.

 

What is the overarching theme of the four songs in your new EP,

Making Sense Of?

I wrote this EP during a time when I was discovering a lot, which was unknown at the time. The content of the record touches on one relationship in particular. My single, “Chasing Streetlights” revolves around a relationship with the road, as well.

“In The Dark,” “Making Sense Of,” and “Chasing Streetlights,” were all written for this specific EP. “Lovers Intertwined” was a song that I had started to write a year or so prior.

I dug it up, and the song’s existing foundation was a fit for this project. My cowriter, Evan Hutchings, and I finished writing the song, and it wound up being the final puzzle piece.

 

The first single released from the EP, “Chasing Streetlights,” is available for purchase on Cadence and Cause, and each sale helps to support health care access for impoverished children around the world that suffer from neglected tropical diseases. Tell us more about the cause.

When I found out about the ability to release a single via Cadence and Cause, and that I could support this cause, it was an opportunity that I wanted to hop on. The list of neglected tropical diseases includes things like Buruli ulcer, foodborne trematode infections, leprosy, and many others, according to the World Health Organization.

Many of these diseases are caused by poor hygiene, overcrowded living spaces, and an inability to control bacteria due to poverty. [sic For a minimum donation of $2.50, people can purchase the song] and for every 50 cents that is donated, Cadence and Cause provides one child with critical medications to treat these ailments for one full year. The countries that will receive help from the donations include Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Honduras, Nigeria, and Peru.

 

What inspired you to help a health-related cause?

My girlfriend recently returned from a nonprofit volunteer trip in Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia. Firsthand, she saw the issues that these poverty-stricken children had to deal with.

I was heartbroken and moved by her experiences. When the opportunity of Cadence and Cause was presented, I thought it would be a fitting way to share my music.

What do you hope to do next in your music career?

I would love to come home and make a full-length record. I have an iPhone full of half-written voice note ideas, and I’m sure that after this trip I will have much more. In 2015, I began writing quite a bit [of music] for film and T.V., which is its own unique creative outlet. But, writing and releasing a full record of personal stories [through] music is something that I’m really looking forward to.

 

When will you be back in the U.S.?

That’s a very good question!

 

What do you hope to gain from your global backpacking experience?

Creatively, I hope to have new stories to tell [in my music.] I look forward to pulling from new sources of inspiration through visiting all of these cultures, sounds, and people that we will experience.

Personally, I want to learn as much as possible about myself, and other people and places. Travel isn’t always easy or comfortable, and I think one can learn a lot about one’s self through going outside of those comforts. Professionally, I think it’s important to learn balance—learn to “unplug” every now and then—and to be completely present.

 

Follow Emily Kopp on Facebook at Emily Kopp Music, and on Instagram and Twitter where she will share live videos and updates. Check out Robyn and Emily’s travel journey on Facebook and Instagram: @BackpackingBabes. Learn more at www.emilykoppmusic.com and watch her TEDxGreenville performance.