Musician

I was guided into piano lessons and 'guided' is a nice way of saying 'forced.' I don't regret it, but I think music theory as a concept doesn't work.

I tend to listen to podcasts while running. I don't like to listen to music because my brain would try to get me to run in time with it.

I really don't use that much stuff. I think it's good to know a few pieces of equipment very well, rather than learn new ones every time. I think it distracts from the writing process.

I'm not interested in making an album that's just dark and pummelling for an hour, nor am I interested in making a beatless record from start to finish.

I'm actually a big fan of turning off my phone and ignoring it for large chunks of the day.

It's great to do something that makes your brain just switch to a different mode, and music can do that really powerfully.

Learning how to be calm and centered in any situation is a skill for life, whatever you do.

I'm a massive catastrophist by nature.

I've always lived in my head, which is very easy to do when you live and work in a city.

Making music has always had a therapeutic effect on me.

I like to have an album arc that comes from an experience rather than a story.

I have the inability to stop thinking and switch off from work at night, which causes a lot of sleeplessness.

Whenever I've improved, gone up a level in sound-making, it's been because I've done an album.

Ironically, my tastes aren't that experimental, and I wouldn't describe my music on the surface as being overtly experimental, either.

When I did 'Immunity,' even though I did a film score at the beginning and also at the end, I was left uninterrupted during the middle bit. I got a good year of just writing and focusing. That, to me, is when I make the best stuff.

To try and create a transcendent state through music has always been the intention.

I just love switching stuff off and going for a run, or sitting down and eating cake.

For me, the most important thing is to keep everything moving very fast, so when I have an idea, I can realize it and make it audible as soon as possible.

I love starting a track in one place and not knowing where it's going to end up.

I remember having a 7-inch Depeche Mode single when I was ten and really loving that.