Banks

“My voice has always been kind of distinct - even when I was four years old, my mom told me that people would be like, 'Why does your daughter always sound like a chain smoker?' I've always had this deep, raspy voice.”

“Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around, and it felt like there were 25 extra pounds of gravity on my shoulders. It's like you're mute or something.”

“I always say my music is like dark blue or black, like a punch to your gut that feels really good.”

“My identity started developing through the songs I was writing.”

“If you meet me, you might not get to know me. If you hear my music? You'll get to know me.”

“Every artist is an artist, and every heartbeat is a heartbeat.”

“I like wearing oils. Perfume makes me nauseous sometimes. It's too strong.”

“I haven't even had to learn, but it's just this natural thing to be able to express any emotion I have through the tone of my voice.”

“What people would qualify as R&B is, for me, just soul. And I love honesty and soul and heavy, crunchy beats that move you and make you breathe a little bit faster.”

“A wounded healer, I think, is a lot more powerful than a healer that has not been wounded. In 'Weaker Girl,' I was coming from a wounded healer's perspective.”

“I feel more comfortable being confrontational and authoritative. It's important for women in this business.”

“Once I discovered how important writing music was to me and just what a huge weight it lifted off of me, I knew that it was going to be the biggest part of my life, the biggest love of my life, the biggest thing in my life.”

“Sometimes I see through things when people are talking. I'm really sensitive to other people, so I can tell if somebody's putting on a front.”

“I like Australia, but every time I'm there, I feel like everybody's being sarcastic because everyone's so nice.”