Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES
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“I write better when I have my favorite tools. And it helps when the conscious brain and subconscious brain are doing different things.”
Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches has an impressively organized songwriting process that involves spreadsheets, Pinterest boards, and a jar full of paper.
Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches mostly falls into the "you can't wait for the muse to strike" camp. More precisely, you can wait for the muse to strike--but only if you've already done the legwork. “You can't expect the muse to strike if you don't put in the work. It's important to do something creative every day, even if it's watching something or writing something random."
For Mayberry, that legwork involves writing every day. She has the jar to show for it, a jar full of cut out words and phrases that she collects for inspiration or future lyrical Ideas. She also keeps notebooks. "Writing is very therapeutic for me," Mayberry told me. "And I like to create things outside of the band." When those ideas make their way into her songs, her lyrics take on more of a storytelling vibe.
Mayberry has a keen and precise take on her creative process. She doesn't write much on tour. "Sad, soft, worried me doesn't go on tour, but she's the one who writes better," Mayberry says. When she does write, it often helps to be doing something else, like riding public transportation, driving, and chopping vegetables. Yes, chopping vegetables. "It helps when the conscious brain and subconscious brain are doing different things. The hubbub is meditative," explains Mayberry. "The conscious mind checks out so that the subconscious can do the work."
Mayberry's creative process is impressively organized. It involves spreadsheets organized by tabs with themes like horror, anger, and sadness. She's a big fan of Post-It Notes, and she loves hotel pens. "I write better when I have my favorite tools," she says. And Pinterest mood boards filled with images help her when she's stuck. During the pandemic, Mayberry tried different rooms in the house when she was in a creative rut. Mayberry says that "when one room ran out of juice, I'd go to another room."
All of this organization unsurprisingly makes for a writing process that favors exacting lyrical precision. She writes and rewrites until the lyrics are correct. On Chvrches' latest album Screen Violence, one song had four different sets of lyrics. The song "Final Girl" features the line "And you know that she should be screaming." Her bandmates at one point thought "she will be screaming" was better, but Mayberry favored the alliteration and flow of the final version.
Chvrches’ latest album Screen Violence is out now. Watch my interview with Lauren Mayberry as we take a deep dive into her songwriting process!
