We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexander Benjamin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexander below.

Alexander, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

I find myself in an industry that is forever evolving in every aspect. So many times as an artist you are told “you are not (insert whatever) enough” as opposed to just admitting that the people on the business side usually do not know what it is that they are looking for.

I have embraced the fact that I am different in every way. I no longer try to fit any description or attempt to make myself “more appealing to the suits” because my inherent being and authenticity is the only thing that I have and the more I neglect that then the less power I have as a creative. It is so important to stand up for yourself and recognise that you do have agency over yourself if you just allow your most authentic self to shine through.

Stop trying to fit a mould because you will never find yourself if you are always seeking validation from others.

Alexander, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Absolutely! Hello everyone! My name is Alexander Benjamin and I am an actor and musician currently manoeuvring through the world of creativity to push boundaries, make people feel things and remind myself that channeling your true passion is what will make you feel as validated as ever.

My discipline involves:
Making sure that I am constantly in class and exercising my instruments, be it my voice, body and emotional being.
Challenging myself to keep pushing my boundaries as the goal post is always shifting.
Recognising that we are always learning and you will never get to a place where you know everything and that is a great thing.

I provide a level of authenticity for my clients that allows them to truly connect with me and see how art can be so moving if you just let yourself see how different approaches to the work may invite new perspectives.

More often than not, in today’s general world we see way too much of the same. People seem to be chasing this unrealistic standard in every way and it’s so monotonous. Where is the originality? Where is the spark? Where is the unique quality that makes you yourself? Why does everyone now want to have the same features? Why are people so afraid of embracing themselves?

This epiphany led me to start a career in music that was completely accidental. I was with one of my best friends and we were shooting random ideas and tunes to each other and ended up creating a song that I never knew I could do.

That song ended up helping me connect with my now music partner who I have multiple songs with and we have done two shows together at Rockwood Music Hall & Soho House.

Our next show is at The Delancey Hotel on the 1st of February at 7.45pm – under the group name CEL35TIAL (featuring Alexander Benjamin & Jesse Turner).

Had I not said “YES! Let me try this out” and see what magic can be made, I wouldn’t be creating music and soon performing at a stunning hotel on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City.

I allowed myself the freedom to say “I don’t have any experience doing this and that’s okay because I’m approaching it authentically. If I fall flat on my face then I’ll just get up and try again a different way”.

The music Jesse & I make is so unique, out of the box and original and we genuinely love it. It’s very much dance, alternative pop, disco, grunge and EDM style with so many other elements.

Had we not just tried to connect with each other about it then we wouldn’t be where we are today.

What sets us apart from others is that we know that all art is subjective & not everyone is going to like what you do. That being said, that is none of your business & as long as you do it for you then that’s all that matters.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Ever since I was small there was always this notion that I had to be lesser than because I’m quite a larger than life human being.

“Dont be so loud, don’t be so vibrant, don’t be so flamboyant, don’t be so big”.
This was because many people did not know how to embrace my authenticity and so they wanted me to live in accordance to what they needed from me at that time which was to not be a distraction.

I had to unlearn all of that as I got older and said “BE TOO MUCH”. There is such a finite amount of time on this earth. Why limit your potential by letting others dictate how you choose to live? Nobody has the right to take away my spark or my energy unless I give them that ability.

I sure as hell will not let anyone tell me how to move through this world because I know that my authentic way of living is helping someone else who maybe does not have that freedom within themselves right now.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

As mentioned earlier my music partner Jesse Turner and I became music partners by accident.

We are both actors primarily with musical elements and it was by sheer coincidence that I had told him that I was going to do some music with my friend to see what would happen when he said “show me when you have a chance”.

Once I did and we started to listen to each other, we got in the studio and just jammed with each other so much that it became so natural. We just allowed space for the other person to create and together we explored that and keep doing so to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thealexanderbenjamin.com
• Instagram: Alexxanderbenjamin
• Twitter: @_alexanderbenjj
• Other: Spotify – Alexander Benjamin

Image Credits

Stan Demidoff