Local musician H.C. McEntire discusses her first solo album

Staff writer Jessica Hardison talked with H.C. McEntire, a musician from Durham and Mount Moriah frontwoman who just released her first solo album, “LIONHEART.” McEntire is currently on tour, and spoke with The Daily Tar Heel while she was driving to Chicago to perform. 

The Daily Tar Heel: Can you tell me about yourself as a musician?

H.C. McEntire: I started playing music when I was 18. I’ve been in a lot of different bands with a lot of different styles, like punk music, pop music and country music. I started writing first as kind of like an alternate outlet for poetry. I went to school for creative writing, so that was kind of how I got introduced to music, through finding melodies for music around the poems. 

DTH: Can you tell me about your debut album, “LIONHEART”? Were there any particular themes you were going for in the album? 

HM: I didn’t have any intentions, really. I didn’t start out with a concept. It just kind of came together, and then it became clear that the songs were cohesive in a certain way. It is a personal record and there is a lot of imagery from the South and from my childhood.

DTH: How does it feel to debut as a solo artist?

HM: It’s terrifying in a certain way. I had never released a solo record, but it’s also really empowering. It’s been a mix of those things.

DTH: How is it different creating music solo instead of as a band?

HM: When you’re with a band, there are lots of different points of view and I think the collaboration style is just different. With the solo record, I felt like I could dig a little deeper into the personal parts, you know? It’s not that my band mates have ever tried to hold me back in a certain way, but it allowed me some space to just really, really dig there.

DTH: Is the sound of the album different from Mount Moriah's sound?

HM: I think it’s different. I think it leans a little more toward country. It’s also similar in a certain way. Some of my band mates from Mount Moriah play on the record. I think there is definitely a kinship, but to me it feels different. 

DTH: You got to collaborate with some of your favorite musicians on the album (Kathleen Hanna, Angel Olsen, Amy Ray, Tift Merritt, William Tyler, Mary Lattimore and Phil Cook). Can you tell me about that? 

HM: I knew when I was going to make it that I wanted to ask a lot of friends to be a part of it. Quite frankly, some of my friends are better musicians than I am. It was so full of collaboration and I felt that I was directing it in a certain way that I hadn’t before. Everyone that I worked with is a friend, and most of them are really good friends, so that feels good.

DTH: What were some of your favorite moments during the recording process?

HM: I think being able to record the majority of the record at my house was really cool. I have a home studio with my roommate. It was nice just being able to wake up, make some coffee and then get to work. It was also nice having my dog around. It just felt comfortable and relaxed, and I felt like it put me in a peaceful place where I could really push. 

DTH: What are your favorite songs from “LIONHEART”?

HM: I think “Quartz in the Valley” is a fun song. It has a vibe that is like a movement tempo that I haven’t written before. It’s just like a fun driving song.

DTH: What would you say you are most proud of about the album?

HM: I think just that it got made at all in the first place. It has taken a long time to build up the nerves to do it. I don’t think that there is one moment in particular. I was able to work with a mentor of mine that I really look up to, Kathleen Hanna, and that was pretty significant for me.

DTH: What does this album mean for you as a musician moving forward?

HM: I feel empowered in a way that is going to sustain me. I’m ready to take some more risks and push even further. I think it was a scary thing to do, but now I feel like I’m ready for some new challenges.

@JessHardison31

arts@dailytarheel.com