When you're writing about difficult things and darker issues, it's nice to offer some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. Some sense of hope. Sometimes, the best way to do that is by offering it in the music, so that you can dance your way out of the darkness.
My way to think about creation is like the end of the world. I love confusion. So music and image, picture, fabrics, people, person, talk: That's my way to work. And food. And perfumes. I love perfumes. And flowers and plants, and dresses and vintage.
Since I met Starsmith, my producer, I really feel like I'm making music because we write it together and produce it together. I've got a proper involvement in the end product as opposed to just writing a song and finding someone else to produce it.
There are times pop music is the end result when I'm in the studio, but I don't really go in and say, 'Today I am going to make a pop song,' but it can happen.
If you think the music business is the be-all and end-all of life, you're in big trouble.
I think it's all about the people who listen to your music, and loving playing and writing. Once you've got those two, and they're your main two priorities, then radio and TV and all the other stuff that comes with it will come. But that's not the be-all end-all.
I love to play music. So why endanger that with something like drugs?
Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.
There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking.
It's strangely energizing to have people who don't make music themselves take potshots at you from the Internet.
Starbucks has changed the rules of engagement for the music industry.
I write songs very quickly, so the 20 minutes of joy I get out of writing a song doesn't compare to the two months of joy I get engaging with the people who like my music.
I alone of English writers have consciously set myself to make music out of what I may call the sound of sense.
We lived on a farm in the English countryside, where we wrote a lot of our music. You really were treated like an artist during those days-not like product, which is now the mode.
I was an English major in college, so I really liked spoken word and poetry; it was what I did before I wrote music.
Ironically, for a few million people in the Far East, I did become an English teacher through my music.
I think the French have a romantic cliche that Englishmen have great style, great music, irony and sense of humour. Well, sometimes cliches are true.
I've grown, and my passion for music has grown. I've become more advanced and I've enhanced my vocabulary. All around artist development.
In nearly all ballads, the words set the mood and meaning, while the music intensifies or enhances them.
I was listening to Ministry and Garth Brooks and Charlie Pride and Wynton Marsalis, and then I would listen to Juvenile or Lil Wayne. It's just that I'm a big fan of music. I'm a student of music. And I just want to learn and keep enhancing my education about the music.
