I don't know how well I work in traditions. I don't know if it's just the way I listened to music growing up and never having my foot in one particular world, and just wanting to do my own thing.

I don't use the harpsichord because it evokes a past time period: I use it because I like the sound.

Tragedy' and 'Loud City Song' are both inspired by stories from the past.

I try to ignore people's opinions about my music - you don't want to hold yourself back because of that stuff.

New Yorkers think they have everything, all the best art and music. But really L.A. is a better place.

One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.

The founding father of Albanian literature is the nineteenth-century writer Naim Frasheri. Without having the greatness of Dante or Shakespeare, he is nonetheless the founder, the emblematic character. He wrote long epic poems, as well as lyrical poetry, to awaken the national consciousness of Albania.

I used to love 'Jeeves And Wooster.' That theme tune was great. I remember writing to them when I was little to get the music so I could learn it on the piano, and they sent me the sheet music.