Off the Record

Valerie Gorham 0:00
Hello. Hello to all our listeners. I'm Valerie, and this is WKNC Off the record podcast where we interview North Carolinian. Artists I recently got the chance to interview Amelia Leonard, who creates music with an indie folk vibe. Here it is. So

let's get started talking about your music um, so I listened to all of it. It was really great. Um, so I just want to ask, like, when you started making music and, um, how come you chose that? Genre

Amelia Leonard 0:29
I'm flattered. Thank you. Um, honestly, I it was kind of a two fold. I don't really think it was a decision. It was just it happened. I think for two reasons. One was just the pure accessibility of just a guitar, you know, like my my brother had moved out, but he left his old guitar around. And I think Folk is something you can do. Folk and singer songwriter, you can really do. You don't have to have much or that full that first whole album, lionhearted. I made it on my phone with just the, like, Apple earbuds and like the two guitars that we had lying around the house. So it was part of the genre decision, was the accessibility of it, and then another part was just like, I love listening to that kind of music so I do think it bleeds over into what I created for sure.

Valerie Gorham 1:15
Okay, great. Um, do you have, like, a favorite artist or, like, favorite artists that have inspired you.

Amelia Leonard 1:21
Man, I you know I've, I've loved Taylor Swift since I was super young, so she, she's up there for me. I love Brandi Carlile. As far as folk goes, I can't ever stop listening to her. I love the Oh hellos. And I'm listing music that kind of bleeds into what I make. But there's definitely I do listen to mostly everything. Honestly, I love sleep, tokens Slipknot, Deftones, Travis Scott, like, there's lots of things that I listen to, most things, honestly, which I like being that. Way It's nice. Well,

Valerie Gorham 1:51
it's funny that you said Taylor said when I was listening to your music it reminded me of like, ever more really,

Amelia Leonard 1:57
that's the biggest I don't know if you know me, but that is the that's the that's the highest compliment. That's my favorite.

Valerie Gorham 2:03
Thank you. It sounded like that, or like folklore, or like

Amelia Leonard 2:09
torture poke, mythology Yeah, oh, that's, that's

Valerie Gorham 2:12
high praise. Thank you. Yes, of course. So are you from North Carolina?

Amelia Leonard 2:16
I am. I was born in Michigan, lived in St Louis for a little bit lived in Cary for a little bit and then moved to Durham. So I was raised in Durham, I consider Durham, to be like where I'm from because I turned 10 there and then those formative years happened in Durham, so yeah nice I'm from Charlotte nice my sister and brother go to college up there Oh, where UNC Charlotte yeah my brother just graduated, what year are you here I'm a junior Oh, same nice cool What's your major I do? International Studies Oh, okay, that's nice I like it all right, nice

Valerie Gorham 2:53
so you have two albums out now, I do yes, so they're called lion hearted and prego, brego. So can you just tell me about, like, the names of those albums and like, what inspired you and how you made them? Yeah,

Amelia Leonard 3:11
good question. Lionhearted. I started making when I was in high school, maybe that fall semester of high school, and I just, I remember I used to make covers. I still do when I'm bored, but I like, I'll put them on band camp. I don't know if that's legal or not, but I put them up there. And I remember I showed one to my dad, and he listened to, I think it was like a pretty sentimental. Song so the lyrics were, you know, up there, emotional wise. And he, I remember him looking at me and being like, I want to hear what you have to say. And I was like okay, and so I actually started writing I think maybe partially because of that conversation so I started writing lionhearted and those songs kind of came about, naturally they just kind of poured out of me for those next I think I wrote for like two and a half years or something, because I just it was something I would do after school like a little after school project. But the name, my last name is Leonard, and Leonard means lionhearted. And so when I was thinking of, you know, a way to group all these songs together and what they had in common, the only thing I really had on my mind at the time was like I felt responsible for them. So I think just throwing my last name on them made sense to me. And then for the second one, actually, it's a little more of a nerdy reference. But I don't know if you know Lord of the Rings in any capacity, but I grew up on Lord of the Rings, and there's this scene in one of the movies where Aragorn gets DJed off a cliff by a monster, Wolf, whatever, and he falls down. And his horse actually, when he's laying there, he doesn't have the strength to get up. His horse named brago, which means kingly, comes and gets down on its knees and lets everyone climb onto it, and it carries him to safety. And I remember, like that scene, um. Um, felt like music to me. Like, I think when I was thinking of these songs, because I was writing them in a little more of a more complicated time in my life. I guess maybe throughout 2023 and 2024 um, music for me was that thing that, like, let me climb onto it and get out. So it felt like safety. So I and, you know, as all folky, and it was all, you know, around a lot of horses. So I was like, I might as well make it the go, yeah, you've read horses. I grew up riding horses. I haven't, I haven't lately, but, um, that was my, yeah, it horses are expensive creatures. Maybe, till I was about, I don't know, early, early middle school I used to ride. I haven't lately. But something about playing the guitar makes me feel like I get close to it again. I don't know if that's cringy, but like, it's the same kind of piece, you know.

Valerie Gorham 5:55
So with your albums, like, do you have, like, a certain goal with each album, or something that you were trying to do or convey to like your audience,

Amelia Leonard 6:08
right? So it's funny, I actually really only started posting my music on Spotify because my mom was really tired of opening her notes up while driving my songs. So I put them on there for her. And then, you know, obviously loved ones and friends are like, well, we want more. And I was like, All right, so it's never really been like a grand goal to have this big thing going on. It's really when I think about what music actually does for me. Again, I think about, like the bra go thing, where it's when I come home after a really long day at work or school or otherwise, it's literally all I want to do, and I feel like I need it, and I'll sit down and like, these songs just pour out of me, and then I feel better. And it's like, I think as far as goals go with the two albums, it was honestly just that, you know, I laugh with my friends about how I we went to the mall maybe 2023 in June, and I spent way too much money at Paper Source on this, like journal, and I was like, I'm gonna write in this every day, and on a, you know, mental health and every I wanna write this, and I literally wrote, like, two pages, and instead of writing in that journal, I made break go. So when I think about all those feelings still existed, they just went somewhere else. And so I think as far as the goal of album goes, I don't, I never really had one. It was more of a something that just kind of had to happen. And I like it that way. I don't feel like, when I go into it with, like, an idea of what I want, I get paralyzed. And I like, if I go down, I sit down, like, I'm gonna make a song today. I just don't, yeah, like, it has to just come out, you know.

Valerie Gorham 7:42
So when I saw your like flyer thing, the poster that you hung up at price, it's so that you need, like backup singers. So do you do live performances?

Amelia Leonard 7:52
We're getting ready. We have not done one yet. The only real semblance of a performance I've done is 2024 I sang with my brother, who he has a big, bigger band, I guess. And they played in Charlotte, at snug harbor, and we went up there, and we sang, miss the way together, which was nice, which is a song that we have together, but that was as far as something I've been a part of performing. That's the only time I've done that, but I did find some really cool backup singers, and we've been rehearsing a set list, which we do have, and reaching out to little low venues. And we're gonna hopefully set something up this coming year, because I do have a third album, which I think is my favorite body of work in my notes app and and I'd like to maybe get out and and sing it in person. That's great.

Valerie Gorham 8:44
So it sounds like you have a lot of like, support, family support. That's nice. It

Amelia Leonard 8:49
is nice. I like it a lot. Family. I'm like, I make the joke that I'm the least creative person in my family. Like, I like out of everyone who would have a who would have a Spotify, I think it would be like, maybe one of my little sisters or and my big sister, they're all, I'm just, like, a product of that environment. I'm, like, the least talented one. So it's easy, because they all love it the same thing, you know?

Valerie Gorham 9:13
So, um, you said, like, the your songwriting process is kind of just, like, it just happens, like, naturally, so about, like, when you like produce the music and like the instruments and like the composition, how do you go about doing that?

Amelia Leonard 9:31
So honestly, it starts always just with the guitar and the metronome, and then I layer the vocals, and then, you know, sometimes the song ends there, and I have a few that are like that, where it's just me and the guitar. And then sometimes I'll, you know, I won't be ready to walk away from it, and I'll add drums and add bass, and I'll add, you know, piano, but it's always I stop when I feel like that song has, like reached its. Geek. And sometimes for songs, it's just like, a little somber me and the guitar, and sometimes I get to take them a little further, but I've had times where I've tried to force, like, more instruments on a song that requires less, and it just sounds a little funky. And it's like, that was never it's not supposed to be that way. So I think it's like, you're trying to every song has a sound, and I'm just trying to find it instead of, you know, yeah. So

Valerie Gorham 10:22
do you do like all that production, like completely on your own? Yeah,

Amelia Leonard 10:26
most of the time I I'll, I record every instrument is me. That's probably why they all sound like choppy, all me. And then I'll my brother, who's in a band, he'll put them through the master, which I think just regulates volume. But other than that, and I, I'll tell him, like, I, I like to leave them, you know, there's no auto tune or anything like that. I like to leave them as almost demoy as possible. I like, I like it to be like, true to the the time, um, like, where it was created. I don't like to alter things too much, so there's really not a lot to produce, I guess is my point. So I just have this memory. I one of the I recorded a cover in like 2021 and I remember my sister and her friend, who were younger, obviously, at the time, just running through the halls like chasing each other. And every time I listen to the cover, I hear their their footsteps running down the hallway. And I remember, like, something about that was super, like, nice to me. And I was like, think that's when I decided, like, I don't want to tweak it too much. I like, I like hearing, you know, and some of the songs I have right now in my notes app, our walls are thin, and I hear my roommates laughing in the other room or dropping things, and I just leave it so there's not really much to to produce. I guess we master the volume. And occasionally, if I, like, sneeze in the middle of a take take it out. But that's about

Valerie Gorham 11:49
it. So wait, so you have, like, do you live on campus?

Amelia Leonard 11:52
I do. I mean, Wolf village. Oh, nice, yeah. Little apartment, like, Dox myself, whatever. Yeah, I just not gonna do much, yeah,

Valerie Gorham 12:04
but was I gonna say, um, like, do you, like, record stuff, like, just in your room? I do. Like, Okay, nice. Yeah,

Amelia Leonard 12:11
it's nice. I'm lucky my roommates like it. I feel cool. I feel like, if I had gotten roommates who aren't intuitive, I'd be pretty annoying to hear me, you know, at like, three in the morning, like, making very obscure harmonies through the walls, but they're, they're into it, so it is nice. And I do record in my room.

Valerie Gorham 12:28
Well, that's cool. That's also cool that, like, you can hear stuff going on in the in the dorm, yeah. So I was listening to your music, and I was, like, listening to it in the order that it has on Spotify, like, from, like, most streamed, or whatever, right? And at some point, like, it was like, it's goes very like, folksy indie, like chill. And then, like, factory started playing, right? And I was like, Oh, my goodness, this is a different song, like this one's little bit different. Can you like, um, talk about that? Maybe,

Amelia Leonard 12:59
obviously, for real, I hate factory. I put it on the album because it was the first one I made. It was october 17, 2021 I remember recording it 21 I remember the day because my mom was like, come outside. Our cousins are really come be social. And I was like, give me 30 minutes please. Like, I was like, in the middle of a flow state, I had to get it out. And I think since it was the first one, I was a little critical of it, but I put it on the album because my sister, my older sister, Abby, was like, if you don't put on them, I'm gonna kill you. So I was like, All right, I put it on there because she loves it. But, um, that was the first original song that I, you know, after that conversation with my dad, that I sat down and, like, let myself get out. And I think I hate is a stronger I don't actually hate it, but it's like, like, I think it was before I found a sound that I like, but I still consider it, you know, a sound I think to like the music I was listening to at the time. I listened to a lot of folk in 2023 is all I did, was walk around my neighborhood and listen to folk music. Is all I did. But 2021 you know, I was still in school, and I was listening to a lot of I to a lot of, I guess it's called bedroom pop, like, you know, there's immunity by claro, and there's day glow, and like those things with the the chorus, you guitar, and like some of the more prevalent drums, I guess I don't know a lot of the a lot of them clay Miranda too. A lot of the music at the time that I was listening to sounded like that. I also think maybe that's why I don't like it, because I like the music that it sounds like. And then I have mine, I'm like, This is not even close, but that, I think maybe my explanation to answer your question, in the very long way, is that it was the first one,

Valerie Gorham 14:35
so it was like, before you got into, like, your rhythm of what you like to make Okay, well, now I feel awkward because I was like, my favorite,

Amelia Leonard 14:44
really, no see, I didn't even mean, like, hate is a strong I didn't mean to say hate, but, uh, I'm happy you like it.

Valerie Gorham 14:50
Yeah, it was good. And I wanted to ask about, like, your background in, like, singing. Do you have like, vocal training? Anything like that. Honestly,

Amelia Leonard 15:01
no, I, I, I grew up like I did piano lessons till maybe I was, like, nine years old, and then we moved and I was like, oh, sorry, we're away from the teacher. And so I would play and learn by ear or YouTube and but as far as singing went, I never really sung until in high school. At my high school, I did the show choir starting in sophomore year. So I remember I had this very talented friend, and we would, you know, we found a love for singing together. And I remember I, uh, she, because of her, it was easier for me to have the confidence to join. And I think definitely being in that show choir helped me find my voice and learn about harmonies. I was in alto, so I was like, finding those weird middle layers, and now I love putting them in my songs. But as far as vocal training, no, but that, that show choir high school experience gave me, like, got rid of my performance anxiety, I guess.

Valerie Gorham 15:59
Yeah, well, I mean, now you have to start performing again. I would like to, yeah, I would really like to. Well, that's gonna be fun. Um, do you did you find, like a good group of people

Amelia Leonard 16:12
to perform? Very talented people? Yeah, it's really nice. Yeah. So,

Valerie Gorham 16:15
all right, cool. Um, okay, you said you were in international studies, yes, do. Are you connecting that with your music in any way, or is that

Amelia Leonard 16:25
just, honestly, not really? Which is, it might sound funky, but, uh, you know, I think I already got the point across that, like music, for me, is like an outlet more than anything. It's not like a, you know, I wouldn't say it's not a big dream, but it when I think about a successful music like, like, situation, I think about performing in front of my friends and family and like, maybe some small group of people who found it somehow and like, that's that would be more than enough for me. It's more just an emotional thing. So no, the International Studies decision was not motivated by the music.

Valerie Gorham 17:03
What was it motivated by? Um,

Amelia Leonard 17:05
man, this is my, my, my dream job. Actually, it's a really far off dream. It's really competitive, but um, and rightfully so. You need the right people to do that kind of work. But I want to be a police officer who works in, you know, anti sex trafficking. So, oh, my God. I and I think just being, you know, being a big sister, and, like, I try not to let it bleed through a lot from day to day. But I'm a quite an anxious person. Maybe you got that from the music, but, uh, you know, every time my little sisters, or even my big sister or brother, you know, they're on about, I'm like, oh, something's gonna have, like, something, you know, it's just like this. I can't really turn off that part of myself or change my nature, so I've decided to just try to funnel it into something where it is productive and can do good. And so, yeah, that is, uh, that's where I'm headed, hopefully.

Valerie Gorham 17:57
Well, that's really cool. I that's really cool. That sounds scary also, yeah, but that's like a great somebody has to do it. Yeah? I also, when I was looking on your Spotify, you had an artist pick on their turn off the house by the National Yes, I did. And so why'd you pick that one? Gosh, I,

Amelia Leonard 18:20
I remember I found that song because the national. So the national, you probably know if you're talking about Ember more and stuff, but like Aaron destner, is singer on the national, and their song with Taylor Swift, called the Alcott was my pick for all of last year. It was my most streamed song of 2024 and I was obsessed with it. And I remember being like, Damn, I should probably listen to some of their other stuff. I went and I found that one in something about the words and just how unique the drums were and how gentle his voice was, while saying such an intense kind of thing. It just, it felt like this three fold thing where it was really, really nice to it felt super unique. And whenever I me setting changing, my picks is rare. Picks are rare. But I don't know I liked, you know something about hearing him say you're free of it now, over and over and over again, at the end of the song, I was like, damn. Like, I gotta, you know, it touched me a little bit. So I like, that's why I picked it. I

Valerie Gorham 19:27
think, do you plan on, like, continuing to make the same type of music, like the same genre, for a long time?

Amelia Leonard 19:33
I I feel like I always will. It's not to say it will be the only thing I do, but I there is, like, a certain comfort. I'm not sure if most people feel the same way or not. Maybe it's just, you know, growing know, growing up in, I guess, North Carolina, and you're on folk all the time, but like, there's a certain comfort to just like a warm acoustic and somebody singing really gently. I do think I'll do that forever, because I think it's what brings me the most peace. But I always do laugh with my friends and say, like, if I could sing like Haley Williams. Or, like ginger, I would literally only make metal music if I God knew, I'd be too powerful if I had, like, an actual voice to do that. So I guess that's my like fever dream is like being able to, being able to, like Paramore it up. But I, I, I find that I can get away with my lack of vocal expertise with with folk, so I think you sound good.

Valerie Gorham 20:25
Have you been to, like, I love, like, rock concerts, yeah. Have you been to

Amelia Leonard 20:29
any I don't really think I have. Actually, I went. I mean, I thought I've seen 20 pilots like three times. So take from that what you will. But I've seen them three times, and I guess they get into the the alt, rock kind of situation with big drums, big guitars, which I love. And again, if I could make music like that, I would never stop. But a band of forces too, I guess, which is another big one for music I listen to that kind of bleeds into, I feel like what I make. Band of Horses. They've got some, all gentler kind of rock things going on. I don't know if you know. Have you ever seen Criminal Minds? No, there's a song called the funeral that's pretty big. It plays when Spencer Reed is like oding. That's usually how I get people to remember what Band of Horses is. Maybe that's bad to say on the radio. Okay, that's a good one. It's big drums, big guitars. So maybe those two are the closest I've gotten to,

Valerie Gorham 21:20
do you have like, a favorite thing to write or make songs about, um,

Amelia Leonard 21:24
I don't know. It's never really a conscious, gosh, decision that I make. It's more about, you know, I'm a I grew up as a middle child, so I don't, I try not to really air my needs too much. I like to see what I can handle on my own, and then whatever I can't handle on my own, I feel like that's where the music comes in. So it's I feel like it's maybe less of a deciding to make music about something and more of a here's what I don't know how to navigate. And I kind of it's not like music solves it or anything, but it helps it. I feel like I can get it out of me. You know what I mean, I can get it somewhere, and I can, I can look at it outside of me, instead of just, you know, when you keep things in your head, they just inflate and inflate and inflate and you don't really have. There have been things of my life that I've gone through in this second. I've said them to somebody. When I hear them come out of my mouth, like my own words, it's like feels so much smaller. So I think it makes it a more manageable thing. So maybe that's a depressing answer. Never really a decision. It's more like the end of a long day. I come home and whatever I couldn't handle is, what is getting stung about,

Valerie Gorham 22:36
I mean, like, it's not only just like, fun and awesome, and sounds great for other people to listen to, but you also get like, some like therapy out of

Amelia Leonard 22:46
it. I definitely do. Yeah, that's cool.

Valerie Gorham 22:49
Well, wow, we we've done really good. These answers have been actually, really great, really. I was worried.

Amelia Leonard 23:01
I'm Amelia Leonard on Spotify, and I'm pretty sure the picture is just a really blurry one of me holding a blue guitar. That probably means you're in the right spot. And then on Instagram, it's the same blurry picture, and it's also Amelia Leonard, but there's an A in between. So Amelia a Leonard, and it's me posting a ton of chopped guitar covers. So if you're into that, you can go check it out. And if not, that's okay too. And then on Bandcamp, actually, there's a link to the band camp on the Spotify page if you're interested in the really in retrospect, the covers that I made in like 2021 I promise, when you click on the covers thing, the older ones are at the top and the newer ones are at the bottom. I don't know why they do it like that, but I don't sound like that anymore. Now they're gonna go listen out of curiosity. Newer ones are at the bottom. But if you want to listen to the covers or tell me to cover anything, I'll probably do it if you tell me to. So there, that's I think that's all I got.

Valerie Gorham 23:56
Thank you so much for this. Thank you. It's great to meet you. Valerie, nice to meet you, too.

So that was my interview with Amelia Leonard. To recap, she makes great into music, just as a therapeutic hobby, and it's certainly worth listening to. I'm Valerie, and this has been WKNC Off the record podcast. Thank you for listening. You.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai