I have a big barn that I converted to my music studio, so I go there early in the morning and the first thing I do is rowing. And that's when I listen to a lot of music.

All the music we know that's popular is actually commonly shared music that takes things that are similar about all of us.

The one obvious thing is that the devices are so good now that you can also see their limitations extremely well.

Works of art should be stimulating. They should wake people up rather than acting like a sedative.

Over my career, I'd say the last 25 years; we've gone from music and computer being for 10 people in the world to having personal computers, to now being able to do amazing things on your iPhone, or with Rock Band. So, right now there's enormous capability with technology in our devices that everybody has access to.

The English learned, in my view, how to use harmony much earlier than the French or the Italians, or the Germans.

I'd studied piano first and switched over to cello when I was about seven. I played mostly chamber and solo classical music. I got really involved with rock music when I was a teenager. I wired up my cello.