I went through various phases of different accents - I get ridiculously obsessed with different accents, different regional ways of using the voice, different types of singing. It's all tied together. Speaking is a kind of singing, as are crying and laughing.

I'm inspired by that rawness in very direct communication. My work is not meant to keep people happy or give them an escape.

I took interest in Paris Hilton at one point and got fascinated with her voice.

I've never been good at being nostalgic, and I've never been able to focus on sound without having a voice that's very here-and-now.

On an emotional level, I don't want to be a guide. I want people to hear things and experience them their own way.

I've studied film a lot, so I know much more about film than music, but I don't think I could have made films.

When I write stuff that's provocative, I want people to think about that, too. I'm in between a pop musician and an artist in that way. I want people to be part of the music as they listen, but I also want them to think: What was that?