If you listen to a lot of old funk records, the drums are really small. But you don't perceive it like that because the groove is so heavy.

You can start something, do it, and believe that that's what you're doing, but then the inspiration comes and it's like, "Nope, this is what it is."

To let go of the illusion that I'm in control is an important lesson, because I tend to be a person who likes to be in control, not only of my art but of my life and things around me, and it can be healthy up to a certain point, but at the end of the day, we have to go on faith and learn to let go and ride the wave.

Mothers love you to the end, and she didn't want to hold me back from my livelihood. So I left for a month and called her every couple of days. I came home and she died 24 hours later.

I wanted to make something that sounded very pure, organic, and personal. I wanted to make music that was timeless.

I don't like to approach people that much. There's been times when I wanted to say something to somebody, in a quick moment, but didn't. Then you think, man, who knows?

If you go to Japan, they're still buying vinyl, and they want the education. They know who's playing on what tracks from the '60s and the '70s - who the guitar player is, who the drummer is, who the producer was, what studio it was recorded in. That's how I grew up listening to music. We bought albums. We read the liner notes. It was important to know the whole history behind it.