I really like gentle piano – I developed a real ear for it. Scouring the radio when I was younger this delicate piano piece came on. The announcer said: ‘That’s ‘The Blackbird’ by Olivier Messiaen’. I tried to find it and failed, only years later realising it’s called ‘Le Merle Noir’. 

My introduction to John Tilbury was through Sound 323. I got to AMM, Keith Rowe, Eddie Prévost, all that. I saw John Tilbury at the De La Warr Pavilion around 2010. He was speaking while playing, which was my introduction to Samuel Beckett. At the end, the lid of the piano was slammed down, and all the way back home we were discussing: do you think that was intentional? 

It opened a door to sounds I like. I thought maybe I could gently caress a cymbal or something. Improv gigs, people think they’re a bit stuffy. But going to classical concerts as a teenager I’d go in trackies. People would look at you like filth. I once walked in past these new music queens, as I call them. One of them looked at me and said: I see we’re letting thugs in these days. I was so precocious, even then I thought you should be bending my ear to get me here, otherwise it’s just the same hundred people. I’ve always felt like the improv scene was really chatty. Some people treat music like it’s a one-up competition, but if you’re sharing enthusiasm you don’t need to be precious.

I put Shygirl on my draft list. In my mind there’s a similarity with Howard Skempton and Shygirl, of songs being efficient. Shygirl has songs that are a minute or less. And Howard Skempton has songs that are 30, 40, 50 seconds. They have this real economy which is often lacking. Some of my albums are 37 minutes or shorter. I make things as efficient as possible – everything is there for a reason. And I feel that some people could be more economical.