Aldous Harding Quotes

I'm playing with music and working on different types of music. But I've realised that I can't really stray from what is my marker.

On 'Heartbreaker,' I had to sing those songs. I drank the way I did those songs. I ate the way I did those songs. I communicated the way I did those songs. With 'Gold,' I was trying to prove something to myself. I wanted to invent a modern classic.

I think I've always approached making albums pretty much the same way. I'm just looking for a mixture of songs and topics that aren't the same thing over and over.

Your limitations create your sound.

I don't want to be typecast as the 'ambient guy' or someone who only does electronic scores. I think most of the work that comes my way is because people feel they know me musically.

I don't want to be held down by genres so much.

I personally see myself as a musician in the first place. You know, I don't want to say I will be a producer and DJ for the rest of my life. I can totally see myself being in another band in five years, if that's what my heart and soul wants to do, if that's what will make me happy. I'm totally happy to just not DJ anymore.

I love music, that it changes so much, but I also want to keep a bit of the country roots to make it country. I don't want to go too far away from it, or I would do pop music.

We were kind of caught up in the genre trap. We didn't really have a lot of artistic freedom. They wanted us to go into a certain direction, so they could promote us easier.

Some people think I'm a rock 'n' roll musician and some think I'm a jazz musician but, for me, there is no difference.

When we make records, it's hard to pinpoint one thing that inspires a record. It's usually a number of different things that lead to inspiration or wanting to write something down and share it with someone.

I've been in the studio experimenting on making a CD of my own. I'm trying out different producers, styles, sounds. With music, as opposed to acting, you are not playing a character. You are showing people who you are. I really want to have my spirit in it.

I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.

And then when I found my sound, it took me two and a half weeks to find my sound and when I did I pulled out all the stops, all the stops I could find.

I always recommend to any player to always compose their own music. It's one of the best things you can do to find a road to your own style.

I think once I started writing my own music and having my own bands, that's when I got more of a focus on what I wanted to do, personally.

I feel like guys, girls, whatever it is, you just come out hoping to make the best record. You just try to have a conversation and just create what you've talked about. Whatever you find to fit the beat at the time, what the person is down for, wherever the beat takes you towards.

Each album I do, I try to have at least a slight rule, whether it's the band has to get together and record live, or all guitars, all fuzz on, all the time. It's varying and slight, but yes, I like having rules.

I hate the idea of genres.

I love working with my band-mates in Alkaline Trio, but to make a rock record that was just mine was something that I wanted to do.

My first year making music was very experimental. I was trying to find my sound. My second year, I was more in my element. I knew what type of production I wanted to go over and the topics I wanted to address.

In the beginning, it was meant to be like a faceless art piece. Then I did the first record and it received enough notice to satisfy my needs. I questioned the procedure out of fear. The Silver Jews was never meant to be recreated live.

I really enjoy doing remixes, but I don't want to be known as just a 'remix artist' for the rest of my career.

It's taken a while for me to figure out my sound. It's tough, coming from DJing, because you know how things are supposed to sound, but you also don't want to be formulaic about it.

With 'Acoustic Soul,' I saw my music as sparse. But I didn't do that because I was making a commitment to be commercial. That's what made 'Acoustic Soul' so difficult to produce. It took 2 1/2 years because I couldn't figure out what I wanted and still be commercial.