I often play on the cello-bass side of the orchestra, because I prefer the deep sounds. I can't hear the violins well.

I didn't decide to become a musician until the age of 15, which is quite late.

Hearing is a form of touch. You feel it through your body, and sometimes it almost hits your face.

Before my teen years, I was losing my hearing pretty quickly, and I was getting very, very angry. I was beginning to become an angry person because of that.

Apart from Scottish traditional music, I wasn't really influenced by any kind of music. I just basically followed my own instincts.

I am really quite fascinated by echo-locating bats and dolphins and have always wondered how sound affects the unconscious brain.

A large part of my work has been collaborating with composers; I think we've commissioned about 140 pieces now, a lot of them percussion concertos.