When I was young, I had idols that I thought were wonderful. I wanted to be just like them.

Before I record for real, I know pretty much exactly how I want them to feel.

You go back and look at some of the ancient writings that exist throughout the world about wars and it's the same; the human beings' articulation of events is the same. That really fascinated me.

The craft, the writing of a song, is about creating a story, a life story, a world within three minutes, but that's the frame, if you like, the picture frame. That fascinates me.

In the same way, I write some of my more difficult pieces when I'm at very happy stages in my life.

Ive always been very visceral in that I feel things very deeply.

As I grew older, I actually was prepared to go into fine arts school and do a degree. That was what I was actually settled upon when I was offered a record deal.