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

I'd have these weird experiences where I'd just be walking down the street with this chord progression in my head, this happened more than a few times, and I'd walk home and find a fax in my machine and it would match the music in my head.
Duncan Sheik

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

I'm fortunate I have this coterie of musicians around me to help take music to next level. Being surrounded by so much creative energy, so many creative people really feeds that creativity in me.
Duncan Sheik

If I were to do this over I'd play a lot more shows before I made a record.
Duncan Sheik

It's inevitable your environment will influence what you do.
Duncan Sheik

Lately I've been a workaholic. I'm in the studio all the time and I've helped to produce a couple of artists.
Duncan Sheik

My first two records were more energetic; Phantom Moon is subtle, quiet; so these various reactions are just something I expected.
Duncan Sheik

My second record was all about big ideas - I was trying to make big statements about the culture, about life. I think in a certain way, I was a 27 year old kid with a guitar.
Duncan Sheik

Simon Hale, the British arranger, does all string and wood arrangements on my records.
Duncan Sheik

So I started chanting when I was nineteen, which was about twelve years ago, and it really had a huge impact on my outlook, happiness, and general creativity.
Duncan Sheik

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

The difficult thing about a pop record is that you're given guidelines: it has to have 3 choruses, and then it must be between 3 minutes fifteen seconds and three minutes forty-five seconds.
Duncan Sheik

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.
Duncan Sheik

Things come to me pretty regularly. There is never a shortage or a backlog.
Duncan Sheik

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