I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.

Composition is a way of living out your philosophy and calling it art.

I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.

As soon as you externalize an idea you see facets of it that weren't clear when it was just floating around in your head.

In fact, quite a lot of what I do has to do with sound texture, and, you can't notate that. You can't notate the sound of "St. Elmo's Fire." There's no way of writing that down. That's because musical notation arose at a time when sound textures were limited. If you said violins and woodwind that defined the sound texture; if I say synthesizer and guitar it means nothing - you're talking about 28,000 variables.

I don't live in the past at all; I'm always wanting to do something new. I make a point of constantly trying to forget and get things out of my mind.

For the world to be interesting, you have to be manipulating it all the time.