Name: Alexander Church
Nationality: British
Occupation: Producer, sound designer, label founder at Configurations of Self
Current Release: Alexander Church's To be Real EP featuring Rebekah is out via Configurations Of Self.

If you enjoyed this interview with Alexander Church and would like to find out more about his music, visit him on Instagram, and Facebook.



Music can heal and music can hurt. Do you personally have experiences with either or both of these?

That is a really good question, I have experienced both of these emotions through music.

Historically, music production has hurt as I have placed my own wellbeing and feeling on outputs in the studio, and I could feel really down if I went to make a track and it was not quite happening. Luckily, I have got passed that now.

I also find music can be a trigger for memories and every track can tell a story (good or bad). There is a piano part in one track that I produced with my friend just after my Mum had died and every time I hear that track I am triggered about the death of my Mum. This can either heal or hurt depending on how I am feeling at the time.

My vinyl collection can also trigger the past and nostalgia can overwhelm me at times, but I have got to a stage in life of acceptance. I do like to visit the past through music, however, I do not have any desire to relive or stay in the past as too much excitement awaits in the future for that.

We are still in the process of learning how music influences our body and mind. What are some of the most important findings in this area from your point of view?

From conception to 16-18 weeks, whilst still in the womb, our brain attunes to sound and how we are introduced to music from an early age can have a profound effect on us as children and adults. I find this area of research fascinating.

I am drawn to almost melancholic depth when it comes to electronic music. This could be an electronica track full of emotion through strings and melodies or quite empty music that is industrial in nature. When I listen to tracks like this I often find my mind wondering to the producer and what was going through their mind when they created this. I study the artwork too and enjoy finding patterns in the presentation as well as the music.

I can certainly connect to a lot of deep music and sometimes I find myself feeling a sense of connection with the producer as if they are communicating their feelings through the music.
 
There are many different concepts of what our psychology actually entails, from being the source of reason and creativity to more spiritual perspectives. Can you talk about your view of it and what psychology as a discipline involves in your daily practise?

As you rightly state psychology is very broad and I am interested in how psychology can help us understand our behaviours and interactions with those around us.

From a very young age I have been fascinated with why people think and act like they do and whether people’s behaviours are due to biological, social or psychological factors? Often, of course, they are a combination of all three.

We also have the whole nature vs nurture debate. I try to work on my own self-awareness on a day-to-day basis, I analyse my interactions with those around me. I try to understand and recognise why I react or feel uncomfortable around some people yet I feel completely at ease and safe around others.

I also try to find patterns in people’s behaviours. If I am shopping in the supermarket, for example, I often find myself trying to understand why a person has added certain items in the trolley, what was the decision behind this. It helps me try form an understanding of the person. It is just the way I think and sometimes it can be quite overbearing.
 
Your Configurations of Self label offers a fascinating fusion of many different concepts. How and when did your psychological and creative work start growing together as it were?

I have very contrasting musical styles; I am drawn to very industrial type sounds as well as emotive melodic soundscapes and electronica. I cycle between these styles and what I am listening to depending on my own emotions and thoughts at the time. My brain has obviously recognised this pattern and it is almost a subconscious action.

When I was younger and a lot of my friends were out socialising, I was at home building my vinyl collection and my studio. At this time I became quite fascinated with my vinyl, the artwork and collecting synths and music production gear. I look back and think I actually developed quite an unhealthy attachment to music at that time and became quite insular.

Almost 20 years later I can still venture into my studio and as a form of escapism, I can become hyper focused and spend hours engaging with my synths, programming sounds and putting ideas together. There is a balance between this being therapeutic but also quite unhealthy too as in and amongst this I have a family and a demanding job.

I find my musical output the healthiest when I have developed a balance between studio time and regular exercise and connection with nature.

In how far do you feel as though psychology is creative – or even requires creativity in order to be effective?

As I mentioned previously, psychology is a very broad term and principles and concepts within it are subjective. I would say that as individuals we are naturally creative and it may be factors beyond psychology that influence this.

I am very much intrigued by how our brains and cognitive development effect our creative processes. Many neuro-diverse individuals are naturally gifted creatives and many people function through life unaware of any neurological-diverse conditions they may have.
 
It is interesting that your approach serves the purpose of supporting you in your therapeutic work. Before we get into that, what's your take on the limits and potentials of more traditional models of music therapy?

I see the limits and potential of music therapy in a similar way as I see the limits and potential of other modalities of therapy. I believe that as humans we have similarities, however, we also have many differences and, in order for therapy to succeed there needs to be an understanding that one size does not fit all.

Some people who are not particularly connected to music may find music therapy uninspiring, others might have negative emotional triggers attached to music might find it harmful. Personally, I use music as a means to process thoughts. I do this differently now I am an adult, and it is mainly a positive experience, whereas when I was a teenager I was using music to deflect my own feelings about myself and how I fit into the world.
 
The tracks on Configurations of Self-help you “process your thoughts, feelings, and triggers.” What does that mean, concretely?

All the music I release on Configurations of Self has been created as a means of processing my therapy work with clients.

During the therapy itself, the therapist must remain there for the client and not let his / her own processes come into the room too much. I use music and photography to process my own feelings after sessions with my clients. I may be feeling a host of different emotions and creativity helps me release those emotions.

I also named many of my earlier releases on psychological concepts that I was learning on the various courses and further education I have taken part in.

In which way does working on the music concretely benefit your psychological work?

It helps me let go of my own emotions and thought processes and channel them into the music I am making. If I did not have this outlet I would hold onto a lot of the feelings and triggers that were picked up in the therapy room.

I have worked with many clients that have been at the end of their lives as a result of a terminal illness. Sessions like these were particularly triggering for me and in many ways quite profound. There is something very pure about engaging in conversation with someone who has accepted death and as a therapist it is important that I process this accordingly.

Alongside the appropriate clinical supervision, I have found that music and photography really help me with this although I am still on a journey of discovery and I do not always get things right.
 
There are also images associated with each release. What is the relationship between these images and the music and the case at hand?

During the writing process of each piece of music I will visit places with my camera and take photos that I feel connect with the music. I might be stuck on a track, or it is not quite happening in the studio, and this is a good time to leave it for a while and go for a walk with my camera.

The artwork of each release is just as important as the music for me.
 
Assuming you played the music to your patients, what were their feelings about the music? Did they recognise their issues in them?

It would not be appropriate to share my music or art with my patient. I am bound by confidentiality during sessions and none of my music, art or label marketing mentions any specifics about the patients I see or work with. The music and art is part of my own processes in relation to the patients and therapy process not the patients themselves.
 
What do listeners gain from going through these stories and experiences through music and images, what do you feel?

I would like to hope that people who listen to Configurations of Self releases can feel a certain depth to each track. I am very particular about other artists who I collaborate with and I have a handful of producers I work with. They all have a depth to them that I have connected with through their music and getting to know them.

James Welsh and Vincenzo are two people who appear on the label on a regular basis. I am lucky in a sense that the label is my hobby and my passion and I don’t need to feel a pressure to turn it into a financial venture.

Do you feel as though music offers a specific key to our subconscious that other forms of expression and art may not have? When is music best to achieve a certain goal, when words?

From my own personal perspective yes, however, each person will connect with music, art and creativity in different ways.

It is very individual what moment is best as it is based on so many different factors.
 
Do you think the essence of these stories can be transported in the music even without the audience knowing about them prior?

In my earlier releases on vinyl, I made a point of introducing the psychological concepts I was referring to with as text on each cover. I was keen for people to understand a little more about key psychological concepts and hoped that through this approach, the release could offer some support to anyone who had their own internal struggles.

In many ways, this drives the label more than me pushing myself as an artist. I make very little effort in pushing the releases on social media and am very happy with the small niche circle that supports the label and releases.
 
How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other? 

There are many connections between music and science, namely the use of numbers and maths for composition, mixing purposes, this is the most obvious connection for me and I am lucky enough to have a studio full of synths and modular instruments built by amazing brains that utilise mathematical concepts to create machines that we can use to aid music production.

I spend a lot of time randomly creating textures and sounds and putting them together. There are so many clever minds out there who create these boutique instruments and I love to support them whenever I can by investing in their ideas.