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

I have much clearer memories of my time in Egypt: songs on the radio, the rhythms that accompanied belly dancers, the sound of the adhan - the Muslim call to prayer. I just soaked it all up.

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.

Going to Morocco was massive; that's where I really found music which had the African syncopation and swing mixed with Arabic strains, and together they had this transporting, bittersweet quality.

In a lot of African instruments, you find a rattle, and sound engineers have a hard time making sense of it.

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.

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