The thing about playing percussion is that you can create all these emotions that can be sometimes beautiful, sometimes really ugly, or sometimes sweet, sometimes as big as King Kong and so on. And so there can be a real riot out there, or it can be so refined.

And as I grew older, I then auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music in London, and they said, well, no, we won't accept you, because we haven't a clue - you know - of the future of a so-called 'deaf' musician. And I just couldn't quite accept that.

Music is about communication... it isn't just something that maybe physically sounds good or orally sounds interesting; it's something far, far deeper than that.

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

There are many collaborations I'd like to explore. One is to co-write a rap concerto with Eminem.

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.

I hope the seeds I have sown will be taken up by those who will follow me because the journey I have begun cannot be undertaken in isolation.