When I only had one or two synthesisers you learn how to do everything on those things and you know them inside out. I think that's the best way to be with them. Thighpaulsandra More Quotes by Thighpaulsandra More Quotes From Thighpaulsandra I grew up in the South Wales valleys, but I think my parents realised from quite an early age that if they hadn't sent me to boarding school I would have probably gone to prison. And it cost them absolutely everything. Thighpaulsandra parent school thinking Obviously I can't rely on my group, but I don't want to rely on a laptop just to play back some backing tracks, that's not the way I do things really. Thighpaulsandra groups track play The thing I've learned is it's good to restrict your palette somewhat. I will try and, say, use two or three instruments on one track. You learn, after a while, they're all good at certain things and other things fall outside of the natural areas they work well in, so I tend to stick with what they do best. Thighpaulsandra track two fall Sometimes I just experiment quite a lot. I've always got my computer set up to record so I'll just record a sort of library of ideas [that] I'll either come back to or use as they stand. Thighpaulsandra library use ideas I write all the time, I've got a big, thick, old ledger book that I write stuff down in. I used to watch TV and write things that people would say and now I tend to get it more out of books and from conversations with people I meet. Thighpaulsandra writing book people It's the way I make music, I will take two ideas and smash them together and if they sit well together for me then that's fine, and it's the same with the lyrics - if I see a couple of lines and I like the way they look on the page then I'll use them. I find they take on a meaning of their own, it's very difficult to explain how I actually go about all that. Thighpaulsandra couple two ideas I still use a lot of cut-ups, I physically cut-up pieces of paper and stick them all together on another piece of paper then I'll think, "Ah, that looks good," or shuffle them around a bit and then I'll photocopy it and then that's my lyrics. Thighpaulsandra cutting together thinking I still love pop music, I still have a huge pop music collection, and I like that juxtaposition of styles. Thighpaulsandra juxtaposition pops style I really like working with drummers, I like being able to bounce ideas off drummers. Thighpaulsandra drummer able ideas I'm not a great fan of people who suddenly manage to pull out the whole track sounding perfect from a laptop. That doesn't feel like any kind of show to me. Thighpaulsandra track perfect people Unless somebody's actually creating something and doing something spontaneous I wouldn't find it at all interesting, to watch or to create, so, I'm trying to make my solo shows something different altogether. Thighpaulsandra creating trying interesting I tend to work in the mornings, then take a few hours off in the afternoon to walk the dog, and then come back and work in the evening. So, if I can remember my pre-dog walking music when I get back then that's fine, I'll kind of commit to those bits, but if I can't remember them I'll just move on to something else. Thighpaulsandra dog morning moving I've also got a kind of rule where if I don't write it down and I can still remember it it's worth remembering! Thighpaulsandra down-and kind writing I'm not the fastest reader or writer but occasionally I'll write things down just so I don't forget them. Thighpaulsandra reader writing forget My dad owned a tiny little shop and we never had any family holidays or anything like that, so I was sent to boarding school as a means of control more than anything I think. Thighpaulsandra holiday dad school Going to public school is like living in bubble, you have no concept of what other people do. Thighpaulsandra concepts people school I'm a bit of a hoarder, so I did tend to buy things and just hang on to them. Thighpaulsandra bits There's a lot of people I know who have a lot of synthesisers and they don't really know anything about them, they know the specifications and everything, but they don't really get to know them. Thighpaulsandra specifications knows people I'm not saying I don't ever improvise because I do that quite a lot, especially with other people, but generally I've got an idea in my head and then I'll pursue it 'til I get there. Thighpaulsandra pursue people ideas As a person who has a pretty short attention span I think of music like that, completely. That's why I can quite happily change genres mid-song. Thighpaulsandra song attention thinking