Going to the Sahara Desert and meeting the Touareg band Tinariwen was a life-changing experience. All through that time, I have just carried on learning and meeting musicians, and I keep finding links between different forms.

The closer you get to the source, the more you begin to understand its essential nature.

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.

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

I like to go to old versions and find out what effect beats and scales have on your body, how they can transport you.

I don't want to copy the people I admire - I'd rather find out what inspired them and try to find my own way through it.

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