Caroline Polachek

“I woke up in London one morning in the middle of an adrenaline surge, and I was just lying there - the sun was coming up - trying to think of the best way to describe this feeling, and 'pang' was the only word I could really use to describe it.”

“I've probably listened to 'Try Me' by DeJ Loaf 500 times. It's a little slower than your typical strut BPM, but it still works.”

“I remember thinking that writing love songs was stupid and cliche, and that my job was to not write love songs, because there are enough of them.”

“If I'm receiving an email from a stranger, I usually like it to be properly thoughtful and explanatory, and not just hitting someone up for a casual favor out of the blue who you've never met before. I really believe in manners.”

“When I was in middle school, I loved Egyptian mythology.”

“I really admire people's interactions with technology that aren't tech-centric but use it as a tool.”

“Before I play a show, I put on lavender oil - it's sort of a ritual.”

“But I never imagined that I could ever have a career in music. I always thought it was like a mafia, that you had to sell your soul and know the right people and be in the right place.”

“I guess I've gotten older and more sentimental, and I've realized that the love song is just the modern equivalent of a devotional.”

“I guess this song isn't about anything necessarily sad, but it makes me sad just because it makes me think about how inaccessible the past is, but it's called 'Boy Child' by Scott Walker.”

“I like listening to ambient music, especially in very scenic places because I think it allows for the most freedom of thought.”

“We are always in a state of flux, and taking risks is important.”

“But synthesizer music has been accepted as emotional for long enough that it isn't a huge reach, conceptually, to think of a fake voice as 'emotional', especially since there's a human composing it.”

“Growing up, I was so compelled by artists whose looks were inseparable from their music. Bjork was my hero.”

“If you're walking through the Union Square subway station - New Yorkers know it's obnoxious and crowded, and in the summer it's too hot - there are always amazing musicians playing, and sometimes there are multiple, different musicians set up in there.”

“I think that's a big trope in pop music: the blaze-of-glory breakup. It's not one that I particularly identify with, but it's definitely possible.”

“I think there was a real lane built for indie bands during the time when Chairlift came up.”

“I have an opera coach who I went to as a teenager, when I was 15 and 16 years old. When I went to college, I forgot about it.”

“I was actually really stunned that my label suggested 'Door' as the single to lead with, as it's such a long and winding song.”

“My parents got divorced when I was really young and I was a very hyperactive kid, so both parents independently would play Enya at the house to calm me down and soothe me as a kid.”