Quotes from Washed Out

You hear ten seconds of a song, and you know it's OutKast. There's a strangeness about it because it's catchy, but it's not just pop for the sake of pop. They're pushing the envelope.

I never wanted to just press play on some DJ set and let the lights do all the work. I value old-fashioned performance a little more than that.

Ultimately, what interests me is using exotic sounds in my songs.

I took piano lessons when I was really young, like five years old, and I didn't really enjoy that very much. It was kind of too strict. So when I was probably 11 or 12, I started playing guitar and just kind of taught myself.

I do try to structure everything in a way that's very much like a pop song. I try to keep the arrangements really simple, just to make everything essential.

I've struggled with depression before. For me, music was always a very positive way to will myself out of that situation.

I have a little basement studio set up here at my house, and I do probably 80 percent of the recording here on my own. With multi-tracking technology, I can play various parts on top of one another.

The way that I sing is very mumbled-together, and so I guess I'm kind of stuck with it now.

Escapism or nostalgia, for me, is not about having a terrible life and trying to get away via imaginary ideas or something.

Texture is very important. Just the feel of everything. It's not always about recording everything in pristine quality and having everything mixed where it's absolutely perfect. It's more about a vibe.

Maybe in the future, you'll be able to understand what I'm saying. I'm going more for an atmospheric vibe in my songs. And I really don't want to ruin the illusions people may create for themselves.

I definitely enjoy the kind of magic that happens being on stage with a group when everything's working. The vibe when that's happening gets even better if the audience is involved and you can feel that interaction. That's something you don't get with your headphones on in a studio; it's much different.

When we're back home, I feel pretty domesticated.