13. Elliott SmithEither/Or

Elliot Smith and Kurt Cobain were both deaths that I distinctly remember having a profound effect on me. Kurt died on my 12th birthday and I’ll never forget hearing that on the radio. I was a huge fan of Elliot Smith during his lifetime, I used to go see him play, I was a massive fan. He’s one of the reasons I play like I do. I always liked the lo-fi stuff the best, I liked the gritty production and four-track sound. This is just a beautiful album. It’s interesting how short the songs are actually – one thing I’ve learnt in my late career is to trim the fat off my songs.

I was recording my first album when he died. I still can’t believe he was only 34, younger than I am now. I know there’s mystery and speculation surrounding his death which makes it harder to deal with. He was one of my heroes, but I don’t romanticise suicide. I just wish he could have lived longer so we’d have more records… maybe he would have found happiness.