I think where you play is important.

There actually had been a tradition within English music of the '60s of people looking eastwards, maybe in quite a naïve way, but nonetheless, you had musicians like George Harrison or Bryan Jones recording the musicians of Joujouka in North Africa.

I think it's quite jarring and exciting when you see someone in the thrall of being completely transported by the music they're sharing with you.

I do understand the perspective of die-hard fans who complain that we don't play the same as the record, but at the same time I think fans are getting an amazing deal.

I think the origins of music have probably to do with magic and transcendence as well.

One of my interests is to understand what constitutes the vibe of a place and what makes one concert different from another.

The human condition is what it is. We can see beauty and wonder in the world, but we also face imminent death and uncertainty, and we often need to sidestep the idea of time and communicate with each other, not with words but with a sense of community and union. I don't want to make an overreaching statement, but I think that's the function of culture.