Over a year's time, I felt like I squeezed in five years of touring experience, which was a really huge help moving forward.
I get very bored easily. I'm a child of the Internet or whatever; I want more and more of new and interesting things.
Ultimately, what interests me is using exotic sounds in my songs.
I definitely enjoy the kind of magic that happens being on stage with a group when everything's working. The vibe when that's happening gets even better if the audience is involved and you can feel that interaction. That's something you don't get with your headphones on in a studio; it's much different.
For the most part, the real work is done in the songwriting stage and recording; the next step is presenting to people.
I've always, in some way, incorporated sampling into my work.
I normally start at the computer with something really simple like a four-bar loop of a drum sample or a bass line. And then I just start adding layers of synthesizers.
I just make up lyrics off the top of my head. A lot of times, there's a phrase I really like, and I kind of build the song around that.
I was definitely the kid in the back of the class with his head down the whole time not wanting to speak up and say anything.
I have a little basement studio set up here at my house, and I do probably 80 percent of the recording here on my own. With multi-tracking technology, I can play various parts on top of one another.
I took piano lessons when I was really young, like five years old, and I didn't really enjoy that very much. It was kind of too strict. So when I was probably 11 or 12, I started playing guitar and just kind of taught myself.
I just have the normal ringtone, unfortunately.
Making music is pretty much the only thing I can do.
We lived in Atlanta for a couple of years, and had a lot of fun, but my best work happens when I isolate myself. It's all about turning inward.
For some, being involved in a scene is a great thing because the social element can drive creativity. For me, though, it's never really been like that. It's the opposite. I've always had this instinct to escape.
I'm without a doubt a producer first. The lyrics happen towards the tail-end of the process, mainly because they're more stream-of-consciousness. It's very rare that I'm going to tell a really concrete story.
Honestly, I've just made music so long by myself, in some ways I don't feel I'm a very good collaborator.
The beautiful thing about working with new instruments is that you sort of approach it with a fresh perspective.
I try to stay on a pretty normal schedule of nine-to-five.
When we're back home, I feel pretty domesticated.
