I don't want to sound like everybody else.

I'm more interested in pulling out strands of joy from both myself and the audience. I'm not saying the music or songs are "light," just that when they're performed with the correct commitment it's a source of real pleasure, for me anyway.

The goal is ecstasy, but I don't want to make some sort of saccharine pop music. I want to make something that's completely uncompromising: the best possible music ever made.

I used to routinely break my ribs doing stupid things onstage, but I have a healthy fear of breaking my bones now.

It wouldn't interest me to try to sound like Cop or something. It would be silly and soul-crushing.

When I walk around New York now, there are so many ghosts. I find it very uncomfortable. There were many hard years, and I never really achieved any kind of comfortable financial success, so I just associate it with struggle. When I had a chance to get out, I was elated.

I'm a producer in the old-school way - not just some slacker working on Pro Tools.