Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I like eating yummy things.
I wish I wrote 'Paper Planes' by M.I.A.
I loved a lot of the romantic composers.
I don't like being dependent on other people.
I had no idea if 'No Roots' was going to work or not.
It's a really hard decision, picking my second single.
I get really nervous when I'm performing or meeting new people.
I didn't have just one place where I could say, 'That's my home.'
Like most people, I wanted and still want to live by my own rules.
I would bake for my grandma because she has never had anything I've baked.
My mom used to bake so much when I was a child, and I have a big sweet tooth.
I was realizing that I didn't have a home. I didn't really feel at home in one place.
I wanted to sing about things that moved me and experiences I had collected throughout life.
I always wanted to do something with music, but to be honest, I never thought I'd be good enough.
I wanted to take the seriousness out of everything a little bit, because it kind of fits my style.
I have complete creative freedom. If I want to put a song on the album, there's no one stopping me.
The idea - or, if you like, the need - to write and record 'Lash Out' was born of a feeling within me.
I love spending time in England, whether it's for writing, producing, or seeing my parents and siblings.
I get mad about something, and then I have this melody in my head, and then afterwards, the lyrics come.
Every time someone asks me where I'm from, I'm not sure how to answer that question... so I say I have no roots.
We always watch 'The Polar Express.' I love that movie; that's a very, very nice Christmas tradition that we have.
I didn't want to write a sad song to remind me of the fact that I'm always moving around. I wanted something to cheer me up.
I'm definitely sleep deprived - it is so hard to sleep on a tour bus! It moves around so much, and we have really weird time schedules.
I feel it's much easier to be honest or be myself in songs when I'm playing. That's why I felt, 'You know, I'm going to write the truth.'
I think nowadays it's important to have the support of a group of people who are ready to invest time and effort in your music and vision.
Being an artist and a human in this world always means confronting people who make you feel like you have to act according to their rules.
I'm not going to release something just because they think it's the next hit. It's not what everyone wants to hear, but that's the way it is.
I don't really see myself as a pop star. I guess I just really enjoy being able to play my music for people who actually want to listen to it.
The actual thought of not really having a home was, for me, very depressing, and it was something that I was dealing with for quite some time.
I wanted to write an upbeat song where I could feel good about the fact that I've moved around so much and not sad about all the goodbyes I've had to face.
When I was younger, I always wanted to be either a pianist or a classical singer, and when I discovered songwriting, it was like a new portal had been opened.
Home, for me, is with the people who I really love - whether that's in England with my family, Ireland with my relatives, or Germany and Canada with my friends.
I'm putting out music that I love, and they're basically just stories of my life and how I try and teach myself to think about things. They're kind of like notes to self, basically.
A lot of labels always feel the need to tell you how they think the music should be marketed and what songs work best where. I say make music you love doing, come up with a strategy, and put it out there.
I started quite late. I only discovered that I could write a song when I was, like, 17... some musicians, they're starting out, writing songs when they're, like, 12, 13. I never thought I would go into songwriting when I was that young.
You don't really learn how to write songs; you learn to develop as a writer, and you get to meet lots of musicians and figure out what kind of sound you want. You have the time to just develop and try different styles, and that's what I did.
I was on the beach, and I was just thinking to myself that I have no one place where I actually feel like I'm at home. I came up with the idea of having no roots - never being grounded to a certain place but having your home with people who you love.
Mom+Pop aren't just a label, but they were the group of people that seemed to really care about a long-term relationship. I can be honest with them, like I would with my family, but at the same time, I can expect for them always to be upfront and honest with me.
At the end of the day, it's not the labels buying the music: it's the people out there, and you have to be behind the music and not anyone else. You're the one representing it, you're playing it for everyone; you're doing promotion and travelling around the world.
When I was thirteen years old, and we had just moved to Germany, I definitely felt I was missing out on normal teenage life. I was watching my old school friends from Canada grow up without me while I was in Germany trying to learn the language and trying to pass each year without failing.
Baking is more like chemistry, following certain instructions and knowing what comes out in the end. It's almost reassuring! Songwriting is a creative process where you go into a session with nothing and can come out of it with something incredible in the end. I never feel like I'm taking a risk with baking, but always with songwriting.