Duncan Sheik

“I feel fortunate about being able to make the music I want to make and getting away with it.”

“I'm a pretty big P.J. Harvey record fan and you can really hear New York in his record.”

“I mean, at the end of the day when I'm making a record, what I want to do is what I do.”

“I actually think sadness and darkness can be very beautiful and healing.”

“It's inevitable your environment will influence what you do.”

“I think in a way I was probably completely naive about what it takes to make something become a hit.”

“So, once I've written a song, you know, I'm pretty happy with what the song is on its own terms.”

“For my second record I had gotten ProTools (program) and started to familiar myself with hard disc recording.”

“But I can't really say there is too much modern music that I'm blown away by at this moment.”

“The experiences of promoting my first album were really something; there is so much illusion in my environment (touring and pop music) that I wanted to clear away.”

“I started playing music at a pretty young age.”

“And frankly, when I made that record, hit songs were not what I was trying to achieve.”

“I wouldn't say that I've had a tough life by any stretch of the imagination.”

“I got a publishing deal with BMG, they were supportive, and some money to record demos.”

“Ultimately, if I'm really moved by something, it's going to go on the record and that's that.”

“Happy music doesn't tend to move me much.”