Some artists want a producer to be a kind of svengali - someone who actually creates a sound for them.

I had previously been in the band the Modern Lovers with Jonathan Richman.

Normally when I work with bands I'm trying to refine and improve what's already there.

I think my voice worked out fine, but it was a lot of work for me. And I was very self-conscious about it. I was a bit self-conscious about writing lyrics too.

Music has become a bigger business, and with that there is more pressure to succeed; I think that it creates a negative pressure for being creative.

I think that technology has both introduced new sounds but also allowed an increasingly painterly approach to recording music as you can now paint over what you've done and more and more refine an existing performance.

Brian Eno taught us how to use the Recording Studio as an instrument.