There are rhythmic ideas which sometimes only work up to a point. In writing there are moments when it just comes off the page, it’s not just a collection of notes.

When I was confronted with official tuition, the academic thing, I could see no relationship whatever between that and the music I’d been writing since I was 11.

This sounds horribly pretentious, but I like to think that if music hadn’t existed, I could have invented it.

When I was a kid, I wrote music – from the age of 11 until the age of 18.

Minimalism now is a reaction to what came before. It’s absolutely of its time. Music moved into the set theory thing, and moved out of it.

I don’t think there is much American music.

I didn’t have a record player.

Composing’s not voluntary, you know. There’s no choice, you’re not free. You’re landed with an idea and you have responsibility to that idea.

One thing I’ve tried to do in writing music is take on very basic things, very archetypal things.

It’s the irrational things that interest me.