El-P Quotes

My approach is to be part of a band that makes music, not hit songs.

You want to put out a record that you feel is exactly as you want it. Nobody wants to tour for two years on a record they don't like.

I've always said that I would only ever release something that I would want to listen to as a fan.

I guess every musician looks forward to a point where they can just kind of make an album that truly is like a nice art album.

My aim is just to make good music every single time.

Since childhood, I'd dreamed of making a film, but producers in France and Germany wanted to make commercial films with chinoiserie. I refused.

I'm ruthlessly picky when it comes to the crafting of an album, the choosing of musicians, the right mikes, the right studios. There was a time when it was, 'whatever you want.' Then, as you learn a little bit more about your tastes, I don't give in to that kind of thing.

My favorite record of all time is Tom Petty's 'Wildflowers.' I hold it as the standard - in terms of sonics, sequencing, and songs. It shows that making a complete record is important, rather than just making a single.

The main focus for me is not trying to find duet partners. It's about just making great songs. I want most of my album to be in my voice because it's my point of view.

Because somebody plays guitar, why does it mean they need a singer? Because people already have this image of things? No, I'll put my music together, then think about whether I need to embellish it with a singer.

One thing with Backstreet Boys, we never try to rush out an album. We always try to make quality music that can stand the test of time.

I need a big picture. I can't just do a collection of songs; that doesn't work for me.

I suppose we'll make money off our album and our singles and stuff, but, like, they were made as we wanted them, exactly with what we had to say, and done exactly how we wanted them, right? And, like, we didn't put them out to make money. We put them out because we wanted to do them, do you know what I mean?

When After Forever stopped, I didn't want to first find a band, then see if I could write with them, figure that whole thing out, then record an album. Instead, I worked with people I knew would be good songwriters out of an idea how I thought it would sound like.

I really don't want to put more than a couple of records out a year, and I think that makes sense - on an artistic level, but also for my label.

One of the most harmful things in the music industry is 'record-by-committee,' where 10 people from the label gather around, and they make you write a 100 songs and decide which one's a hit. That takes the inspiration out of it.

I think that for every artist, it's very important to have an output and to feel very strongly about the music you're producing.

Armaan has a simple approach and understands what a composer wants. I tell him, 'Give the song your own vibe but I will still come and fight with you and change it.'

I could have easily doubled my profit and made two records out of 'Among the Leaves', but the songs represented a certain period, and it made sense to get it out there as one piece.

It's easier to collaborate with instrumentalists than singers; they know exactly the sound that I need.

Even if it's a song I know isn't gonna do that well, I'm dropping it as a piece of art, so I always want sick visuals to go with it.

At least I try to stay consistent with every album I do.

I put out tapes, but I always kept saying, 'Why am I putting all this energy into these tapes?' I was like, 'I'd rather make just an album because I have a vision; I know how I want to do my records.' I always felt like an artist as well.

Every album is unto itself, so whatever sounds we need to come up with, like way back when, we needed horns. So we invented the Lone Wolf Horns, and we learned how to play horns.

If we start putting music out constantly where people don't think no more, people go crazy. We're gonna lose the love of heart, of soul. And if the world lose that, I think the world is doomed.