Jamie xx

“I started using vinyl because I stole all my parents' records when I was 10. I didn't think about sound quality then, but I always loved how they sounded.”

“All music is escapism for me, but I like the way that, on a good night, that sense of escapism can be shared.”

“When I go in the studio, I put myself into a place where I'm feeling something I want to portray, which is often being sad, lonely. But as soon as I'm starting to make something, it's when I'm the happiest. Ever. I think that comes out at the same time, so there's that juxtaposition.”

“I find it quite useful to be alone when I'm making music, but also in general, in life.”

“I can't imagine doing a DJ set and playing all my own stuff; it'd just be awkward.”

“My uncle, who gave me my first turntables when I was ten, also gave me records to mix, but I never understood house music. I thought it was boring until I was old enough to go to a club and feel it, the fact that it actually makes you just want to dance.”

“For some producers who are technical-minded, making the song sound good is easy, and getting the emotion into the song is harder.”

“It's not like I force myself to think of sad things, but... it's more that I make music because it makes me happy.”

“I like the contrast in making something that sounds sunny but also has an element of melancholy to it.”

“At Coachella, I want to start separating how I do a big festival set from how I do a club set.”

“Before the first xx record, I pretty much exclusively listened to electronica. Now, I listen to anything. I think the most inspiring thing is just learning more about more and more different kinds of music and becoming a fan of so many different types and so many different genres.”

“When I hear something new, mostly in rhythms, I often find it interesting to recreate it in a studio in a completely different way.”

“I don't want my music to be of its time; I want it to be timeless.”

“I work with talented people. I'm just their tool.”

“A lot of new genres were being born at the time I started going out to clubs in South London, and I was part of an exciting movement that has now blown up around the world.”

“I'm not going to play gigs as Jamie xx. I'm just going to DJ. I'm not comfortable performing my songs on a stage. It's not something I think I'm particularly good at.”

“I think Kendrick Lamar is great. It would be cool to do something with him.”

“I get to go to so many different countries and hear so much music and collect totally different records. It's all very inspiring, and I'm trying to embrace that experience because not that many producers get to have that.”

“I never really learnt from anyone. I just spent a lot of time at home, knocking things out. It has been interesting going into proper studios, working with people who know everything. But I find it doesn't hinder me.”

“I'm used to making songs; that's how I learned to make music. My structures will always be more like pop songs than dance tracks.”