We recently had the opportunity to interview one of our favorite musicians (and favorite people!) Claire McHale. Claire is a close friend of ours from high school, and has been writing and producing her own music since basically the beginning of time. Here at Uterish, we believe in showing off our cool friends, and so we chatted with Claire about her journey to becoming such a fantastic artist.
UTERISH: How would you describe your music?
MCHALE: I’ve always had a difficult time describing or choosing a genre that my music fits into. It’s challenging, because I like to blend in a lot of different styles and genres into my songs, which comes from my broad range of taste in music. Overall, though, I would say that my music incorporates bits of folk, jazz, electronic, pop, and RnB. I do think that I’m still in the process of defining my sound and myself as a musician, but for now I’m happy with my music fitting into many different categories.
UTERISH: Your albums rely heavily on natural imagery (on covers, in music videos, etc). What draws you to those scenes?
MCHALE: When writing songs I always have a very challenging time coming up with lyrics. I don’t usually write about anything in particular from my own life, because I always feel embarrassed to get too personal and am always afraid of writing something cheesy. I think the reason I use natural imagery is because natural scenes are usually what comes to my mind most often. I also like utilizing natural imagery because it allows me to paint a picture of sorts. Being that I utilize a lot of natural imagery in the music itself, I think it easily translated into my music videos and album covers because I want those images to represent the feel and pictures I’m trying to create in my songs.
UTERISH: Talk us through making a song.
MCHALE: Usually the process of making songs starts with the creation of a chord progression or melodic line on the guitar or piano that I like. Following that I will try out different vocal melodies and find one that sticks. Most times (for better or worse) the first vocal melody I try out is the one I keep because it automatically becomes attached to the guitar part in my brain. After getting part of the song down- (usually I write the chorus of a song first) I often transition to starting the recording process. I think it’s easier for me to write and record as I go because it allows me to try out all the ideas in my mind such as vocal harmonies, drums and bass lines and explore how I want the song to sound.
UTERISH: It’s pretty wild that you’re in charge of every element in creating a song, including playing all of the instruments! You mention drums, bass, and vocals––could you list all the instruments you play? Is there any you feel most connected to?
MCHALE: The instruments I play include the guitar, bass, banjo (loosely), piano, drums (only through my midi keyboard), trumpet, and I sing! I would say I probably feel the most connected to either the trumpet or guitar. The trumpet was the first instrument I learned to play and I love the unique bright sound it projects. I came to guitar later on but have loved all the musical doors and songwriting options it has opened up to me. I also love that the guitar is so versatile and can create so many different kinds of sounds and vibes.
UTERISH: What drove you to mix/master/produce your own music?
MCHALE: I think the main reason I decided to get into mixing, mastering and producing my own music is because I liked the fact that I could be in charge of it myself and do as many takes as I wanted without breaking the bank. I have recorded in a few professional studios in the past and while it was obviously great to have such nice equipment and the suggestions from a professional producer the cost didn’t seem worth it to me. While I still have a lot to learn about recording and producing my own music I do feel very proud that I am able to do it all on my own and feel proud to be a woman making music in the predominantly male dominated field of music technology.
UTERISH: It’s definitely a male-dominated field––we read that only 2% of music producers are women. Do you find yourself seeking out solidarity with other women producers/musicians?
MCHALE: I definitely do find myself seeking solidarity and connecting more with female musicians or producers. I honestly don’t personally know any other women who produce their own music, but I do follow a lot of cool Instagram accounts of female producers which are very inspiring to me. Two of my favorite instagram accounts I follow are @womensaudiomission which is a non-profit that focuses on the advancement of women and non-binary individuals in the music industry and @sheshreds_media which predominately focuses on highlighting female guitarists. Seeing the content that these two organizations produce definitely gives me hope that in the future the music industry will become more female-dominated.
UTERISH: Finally, do you have a favorite song you’ve written?
MCHALE: Hmmmm I would say Twenty Four Hours or Summer Rain would be the two songs I am most proud of production-wise, and Closer to Home will always be one of my favs as well!
