Rostam Batmanglij

I never identified with ‘indie,' I don't like that word."

When my mom was pregnant with me, my parents moved from France to America.

Because of who I am, and how open I am, there's something inherently political about just writing love songs.

I love being able to record in a room that's surrounded by trees.

What I love is the openness of collaboration.

The thing I love about car design is that it's sculpture everybody appreciates, everybody has access to.

It's interesting because neither of my parents play instruments. They both love music, but neither of them are musicians. Somehow, I was drawn to it.

Well, I think that I have a complicated relationship with whiteness because oftentimes, I pass as white, and I recognize that. I would be disingenuous to pretend that I don't pass as white.

I like the idea that a song can be about a romantic relationship, but it can also about a relationship to your career, or a relationship to your city.

The most exciting songs to me are the unlikely hits, when you think, ‘I love this, but why is it on the radio?'"

I've always had a complex relationship towards my identity as an American.

As a person who doesn't identify as straight, any love song I write is contextualized by a queer identity.