So, once I've written a song, you know, I'm pretty happy with what the song is on its own terms.

Happy music doesn't tend to move me much

I started playing music at a pretty young age

Simon Hale, the British arranger, does all string and wood arrangements on my records

When I was a teenager, I got into four track recorders, drum machines, and synthesizers, and I started producing instrumental music.

I make the kind of music I like

My second record was all about big ideas - I was trying to make big statements about the culture, about life. I think in a certain way, I was a 27 year old kid with a guitar