Ben Howard

“The U.K. is pretty good at being environmentally conscious.”

“I am really opinionated when I want to be but I'm just not loud.”

“We spent so much time on 'Every Kingdom,' it was a real heart record.”

“In the countryside, you're always hearing sheep, birds, tractors and farm equipment.”

“Without a doubt, Ibiza is one of my favourite places on the planet.”

“I kind of feel that as soon as you've played a song to one other person, then it's something you share together.”

“I'm terrified of routine.”

“There was no grand scheme, no big push, there are things I would have done differently now but you make decisions on the hop and it takes you where you are.”

“Women and their impact, good and bad. It makes men write songs. I write about relationships, basically.”

“We'd get residencies in the local pubs. It was just an excuse to have a free tab at the bar, and then at some point people started chucking me a few quid for it. There was no game plan to any of it.”

“It's amazing how English music manages to travel to America and obviously, American music in the U.K. is massive.”

“As a musician you're always your own worst critic and you're always digging into your songs and evaluating your own self-worth of things.”

“You have to write songs for yourself and not worry about what other people are going to say or think about it. But ultimately it does go out to a lot of people and it will make its way into their lives, and that's really special.”

“I like slightly obscure places, where the waves may not be world class, but you can tie some culture in with your surf trip.”

“We played a lot of live shows, we just kept plugging away and playing music and people kept coming back.”

“We were selling out venues, not just in London but also major cities in France and Germany before labels had even noticed what we were doing.”

“I don't want to ruin my life with paparazzi and all of that.”

“I need some time and space to make sure I'm on the right track with myself and playing music I want to play.”

“I don't know if I'm particularly shy.”

“Loud sounds are everywhere.”