Alfonso Conspiracy Talks New Album, His Voice And More

Oct 16, 2025 | Interviews

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By San PR

Alfonso Conspiracy, the uncompromising project led by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Max James, will release his formidable debut album, The Explicit//The Exploited, on Friday 5th December 2025 across all major platforms. He chatted to us about the record, his voice and more:

What is your earliest musical memory?

That is really tough! I’ve been surrounded by music my entire life. I grew up in such a musical household, one that was deeply routed and involved in the alternative music scene, so it’s very tough to pinpoint a specific earliest memory. I do remember having specific songs as a very young child that calmed me down or made me happy or something. I remember Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ coming out when I was only One years old, and that record tickling a specific part of my weird baby brain haha. I also loved a lot of Prodigy and a very specific song I remember loving is New Model Army’s ‘Purity’

When did you begin songwriting?

The first time I remember trying to write a song would’ve been when I was like…10 maybe. It wasn’t very good and I sort of just put some power chords together and sand edgy words that rhymed hahaha. My first proper composition however was a song I called Oceans when I was about 14ish. You can still find the crappy instrumental version of it on YouTube I think, I see it as a sort of ancient relic. And I am still proud of the fact that I wrote some semi decent riffs for it. Since then I haven’t really stopped to be honest!

You have your debut album ‘The Explicit//The Exploited’ released on Friday 5th December 2025. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

The creative process of this album has been very unusual and unconventional. The earliest ideas root back to Lockdown 2020. The songs have travelled through the last 5 years with me, evolving and adapting to my life. They have all acted as a sort of…almost like a diary. It was a very conscious effort to remain completely unfiltered in writing these songs. I don’t want to hide anything away, or try to sugarcoat things. It was been a place to lay my deepest upset and trauma, and face it dead in the eyes whether I like it or not. Every mixing session, rehearsal and release campaign for these songs act as a reminder of why I am here and who I am, and why I hurt like I do. I am so proud of these songs and I think they may be a struggle to listen to for anyone who is unfortunate enough to relate to concepts discussed in it, but I hope it acts as a catharsis to them.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

I have always recorded and produced my own music by myself really. Over the writing production of this record I have lived in numerous places and had multiple setups, which I have adapted my work to. It has kind of just lived on a hard drive and gone between laptops and flat rooms, garages, bedrooms etc. It’s been messy in a fun way, it has just travelled around with me and I have written and recorded whenever possible to create the songs

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

You know, I often see social media promo of bands in the studio and think I wonder why I never do that. Then I remember its just me sat there for hours not moving or speaking unless I’m recording something. I think it’d be more interesting a concept watching ants drag a subway sandwich back to the nest then watch me record. Off the top of my head the most amusing part was probably tracking the vocals to the track ‘deeper than that…’ I recorded those vocals in one take, obviously adding different layers after, but the main vocal track was just a start to finish sort of thing. I am very immersive when recording music, so for the sake of my online footprint I will just say my room looked interesting during the recording of that song, and I was very…immersed in it. Once I had finished I turned around to see a friend of mine had come to my room to see what I was doing and watched the whole thing unfold. I still hope they are okay after that.

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

I love experimenting and trying to implement less flashy gear into my music. I have this Cassio keyboard. I don’t even think it was mine I think it was just in the house when I grew up. It’s great but ancient now and the tones definitely no longer up to scratch, but there is a charm to it that I love. I used it to create a lot of synth sounds on the album, notably the ‘Chameleon’ synth part was written and recorded on that. I mic’d up the dodgy speaker on the side of the keyboard and that is what made the final cut. A lot of the sounds are just me manipulating pitch and speed of very normal things too. There is a coffee machine on there, an audio clip of me getting tickled by a friend YEARS ago, brushing my teeth, all sorts.

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Gosh that is…wow I mean I don’t know if I could possibly think about any of it being my happiest. The full album is me at my most angry and reflective. If I had to give an answer I guess ‘(transmit)’ is the least miserable haha. I have a bit more fun with that song as opposed to the doom and gloom, and it’s one where I didn’t feel the need to make it too dark or progressive. The angriest song on the album is probably ‘Chameleon’ but I could honestly name half of the album as the angriest. I reflect the most on the new track ‘WHORE’ or ‘Who Are We’ I think. But again I could answer numerous songs for that.

Who were the musicians who were on the album with you?

There weren’t any other musicians present on this album, just me! I wrote and recorded all the songs myself so it any sound or idea you hear came from me. Whether that is good or bad is yet to reveal itself, but if the album sucks then I am solely to blame.

Does the album’s title have a specific meaning/significance?

The album was named something different for a long time, something I came up with early in the days of creation (Probably in Lockdown) but as time went on it slowly became less fitting to me. I think it kind of represents the album as a whole, and it isn’t something I want to necessarily discuss in detail as I would like it to be perceived however people chose to. It does kind of split the album in 2, it is an album of 2 halves and I discuss and face things differently in both halves.

Was it a difficult album to write?

It absolutely was. In every aspect. Of course it was tough because I really wanted it to perfectly live up to the vision and idea I had, and I wanted it to sonically represent the feelings and principles I talk about, which isn’t super easy when they are such difficult things to discuss and face. But I had to sit and open myself up like an autopsy to make this album what it should be. I couldn’t hide anything away, I couldn’t water anything down and I had to musically live up to exactly what I wanted it to be. It is an album of 0 compromise. I do and say exactly what I want to, and I don’t know if that is anything people want to hear.

Who designed the album artwork?

I came up with the idea after a long time of debating what could represent this album best. It is just a photo that is morphed and edited to what you see now, so the makeup and stuff was literally just half my face looking one way, the other half looking the other way. Again I didn’t try to look nice, I tried to represent the album, hopefully I achieved that! I am super happy with the outcome

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

I was born in Hull, East Yorkshire. I grew up here and moved elsewhere when I was 18 to study and start a new life in a city with more connection and opportunity. It is an incredibly complex place and I am still growing into my opinions on it. It is tough to be an angsty teen and hate where you grow up, and sadly I am quite crap at growing up so that part of me is definitely still there, but looking back under a new perspective and slightly older and more ‘mature’ you realise it isn’t the place you hate, it is the experience. It also gave me this god awful accent that apparently people like but I’m not convinced yet haha. I will describe Hull as humble, simple, community-ey (not a word but roll with it), friendly and…I guess delusional but only because I think a lot of people here think they are a lot bigger than they are. Travelling to bigger cities everyone keeps to themselves and part of the crowd but in Hull a lot of people tend to feel an awful lot like the main character. Hey me included so no judgement.

How do you look after your voice?

I wouldn’t by any means consider myself an advocate of health when it comes to vocals, however I do definitely cut a lot of stuff out that affects it. I make a conscious effort to warm my voice up before using it by doing a few vocal warm ups and just singing some less straining songs. It is dumb to go straight into the harsher vocals without easing into it in a sense. Also little thing like not blowing my voice at every gig I attend, stopping smoking cigarettes and focussing a lot on using my diaphragm for any opportunity necessary.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025/2026?

Currently I have a couple of more local shows in Birmingham this year, a headline spot in Digbeth on the 28th of this month where I will be debuting the new single, and a support slot for my good friends in Infortune. Next year I plan to branch out across the UK and hopefully beyond. I just announced a show with the legends Fleisch in Swindon. Super excited for that show, it’s gonna be nuts and I can’t wait. I think there will be a lot more to announce soon as my big focus is playing shows next year!

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

I just hope I had created an experience for the people in the crowd. I don’t really care what they think, as long as they are thinking about it then I am happy. I want to offer a show for £10 that feels like a show you pay upwards of £40 nowadays. I like to get the crowd involved and moving around, that’s what live music is about and should be about. I’m not there to promote and play my music, I am there to express myself and create a symbiotic connection with the fans, where we can all let some shit go and have a good night.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

I wouldn’t say so…I love playing as many different things as possible live. Being alone on stage I like to create more of a show than just singing to backing tracks, so I play loads of different things on stage. I love being behind a kit and have probably had my favourite live experiences playing drums, but that currently isn’t feasible or necessary for the Alfonso live show. One day hopefully!

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Bloody hell that is a question and a half…I can’t lie I am not much of a reader. I wish I was but I find my brain is way too busy to take in any information in a book. The most I can offer you is creating the music to the film adaptation of Green Eggs and Ham…which to be honest would be a fun time so lets go with that

One of the tracks is the single ‘WHORE’. What was the story/inspiration behind the song?

WHORE is a very visceral piece of music that was inspired by dealing with a traumatic event. The coming days processing something that can mentally and physically break you, the questions that come with it and the emotions. It looks at the rage and disgust you feel towards yourself and people who put you in that position. But it also tackles and looks at the vile nature of the musical industry. The exploitation that we still allow to occur behind the scenes of it. There is so much work to put in to improve society and the music industry and sometimes it feels like the only way you will be heard is if you make a scene, or scream louder than everyone else around you.

Do you have any visualisers to accompany the album?

I do! I think we have entered an interesting age of music videos being less important. I love to create visuals for my music which represents as well as possible the vibe of the song, and work with it as an addition to the music, as opposed to a separate marketing strategy. There are already tow visualisers available for the two songs that are already out and I will have more to come during the release process.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

My influences vary so much. I think one thing that makes my music and general persona so different and unusual is the amount of inspiration I take from so many different styles. I was inspired to be a musician by my family, I grew up in a household where my older brother was a super talented musician who played in different bands, and my dad played in a genuinely respected metal band. Watching them play Download festival and bloodstock festival felt like a big milestone in seeing what can be done. My mum was also incredibly musical, and her dad was a fantastic jazz trumpet player. So having all this surrounding me made it a very comfortable thing to delve into. As mentioned I also grew up surrounded by the current alternative musical world and began finding my feet in bands like Slipknot and Parkway Drive and Architects, then progressing into the 2010’s with bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Motionless In White, finally discovering the works of Nine Inch Nails and Sisters Of Mercy and that whole corner of music completely changed it all for me, Alfonso became what we know and love today.

What makes Alfonso Conspiracy happy and what makes you unhappy?

That is an interesting question because I am still figuring out if Alfonso Conspiracy is me, or if Alfonso Conspiracy is an extension of me. It is hard to pinpoint whether I am my trauma and rage, or my trauma and rage is part of me, you know? So it is tough to answer that. Maybe I will be able to one day or maybe I won’t, we will see. For the sake of answering it today though, pizza and horror movies makes me happy and most other things make be unhappy.