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
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.
But really important, perhaps most important is the craft; how you make your record, the creation of these sonic worlds you want your listener to hear.
I'm a pretty big P.J. Harvey record fan and you can really hear New York in his record.
I got a publishing deal with BMG, they were supportive, and some money to record demos.
Simon Hale, the British arranger, does all string and wood arrangements on my records.
But I can't really say there is too much modern music that I'm blown away by at this moment.
I feel fortunate about being able to make the music I want to make and getting away with it.
My first two records were more energetic; Phantom Moon is subtle, quiet; so these various reactions are just something I expected.
Things come to me pretty regularly. There is never a shortage or a backlog.
I actually think sadness and darkness can be very beautiful and healing.
Because of my Buddhist practice, I'm never lacking for inspiration.
I certainly wouldn't say that my life is a disaster, but there have been moments where I've felt like that.
I think in a way I was probably completely naive about what it takes to make something become a hit.
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.
If I were to do this over I'd play a lot more shows before I made a record.
I privilege the music over the lyrics.
I try to make sure that the Buddhism is more or less implicit in the music rather than explicit.
I also wanted to make a record that was about other things than romance, yeah, after two years on the road singing all the songs from the first album, I got kind of tired of that.
I wouldn't say that I've had a tough life by any stretch of the imagination.
Lately I've been a workaholic. I'm in the studio all the time and I've helped to produce a couple of artists.
I make the kind of music I like.
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.
Ultimately, if I'm really moved by something, it's going to go on the record and that's that.
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.
It's inevitable your environment will influence what you do.
A real foolproof way to do it is play your stuff by hook or by crook and build up a grass roots following.
I actually am always a music first person.
I think my Buddhist practice has a profound influence on my life and encompasses my creative projects.
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.
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.
I mean, at the end of the day when I'm making a record, what I want to do is what I do.
Happy music doesn't tend to move me much.
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.
