I do get a bit of a sense, just from e-mails some people send me, just a little sense of how people in different countries seem to respond differently to certain lines in a song.
GotyeEmotionally, I feel mostly out-of-depth, like I will never quite learn how to be what I should be. And that makes me feel pretty vulnerable a lot of the time.
GotyeWhen I started covering The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in a rock 'n' roll band, it helped me realize that my natural voice is actually really high. It helped me find my voice.
GotyeThrough the music I hope to give it an arc that gives it a greater sense of a journey through the set rather than a bunch of songs.
GotyeI've been very lucky to work with many amazing animators and directors who can interpret and extend the music I make. When it's done well, it can create extra meaning and new context for the song.
GotyeI guess Surrealism has a draw for me because it's an unknown world. It's a world of subconscious. Some things you can't really get your hands on very easily. Things that are kind of nebulous and they feel like they're not completely formed. You have to feel your way through that.
GotyeI could quite happily just make music because it conjures up a whole visual world for me in my mind.
GotyeOften times at a concert, I just close my eyes. Music is very transportive and visual for me like that.
GotyeA big part of making music is the discovery aspect, is the surprise aspect. That's why I think I'll always love sampling. Because it involves combining the music fandom: collecting, searching, discovering music history, and artifacts of recording that you may not have known existed and you just kind of unlock parts of your brain, you know?
GotyeWhat makes me vulnerable? Well, my ego, probably. I kind of like to try to let go of it. Or feeling out of my depth. In various aspects of my life, whether it's musical or personal.
GotyeI quite clearly remember driving home at 9 a.m., after shooting all day, in a bathrobe, with bodypaint all over my face, and going through McDonald's drive-thru. I ordered a coffee to make sure I didn't crash on the way home. And the girl working there, she didn't even bat an eyelid. I guess it's a regular thing down in Hastings [Australia] McDonald's.
GotyeI tend to just do whatever I want on an album and try to make it work. I'm just adventurous. It's most exciting to be at the edge of your abilities. I want to see how far I can push things.
GotyeAll the records I've put out have had either artwork that I did while I was young or something that my Dad painted.
Gotye