Broken Bells reminds me how much fun I have making music.

Some people have been listening to the Beatles their whole lives; I didn't discover them until I was 18 years old. As a result, I'm still very affected and moved by their music - maybe in a way that's different from someone who grew up around it.

Even with artists I love, only about a third of their music is what really hits the sweet spot for me.

All I do is listen to music. It's a weird thing. It's like I have so much catching up to do. I've always been over my head. That's just the way I work best, you know. Like when you're studying for school you think, "I can only study when I have to study the night before." That kind of means you're lazy or you're a procrastinator, but for me with music it's a similar thing. It's like I've been over my head for most of my career so to speak.

I have no shame in making music that maybe, if you listen to it long enough, you'll realize you've heard this or that part of it before.

I started out really making music in my dorm room, and it wasnt really producing or anything like that; it was you making something.

I'm obviously really opinionated, but as a producer, you don't necessarily want the person you're working with to try to impress you - you want them to just be themselves. Then you can edit or mess around with what they've come up with. But you have to allow the artist that space.