"I was aware of who Black Flag were and I had heard people talking about them. I was in Exeter at a family funeral. I would have been about 14. I nipped out to a record store which was near to where the cathedral where the funeral was and I walked in as a nerdy little dickhead in my suit that I was wearing for the church service. The guy gave me a bit of a look and I asked him if he had anything by Black Flag and he pretty much fell off his chair. I loved that album to death. The beginning to Revenge is still the best start to any song written ever He sold me this album and I kind of knew I was looking for something that sounded like that at that point. It was becoming apparent to me that hardcore was the area of punk that I was particularly interested in. I loved that album to death. The beginning to Revenge is still the best start to any song written ever. I think about Black Flag a lot when I’m writing, in the sense of brevity is the soul of wit. Fix Me is my favourite Black Flag song and it's 42 seconds long. Every time I write a song that is longer than 42 seconds, which is all of my songs, there’s part of me that thinks I’m wasting my time or dawdling."

"My friend Leila Arab turned me on to them. I love their songs, especially Full Moon (Death Classic) and Guillotine. Intense rapping, lyrics and lush beats. It's all good. They stand out because they're visceral, but also the global, fresh mix of a black English guy and a white Cali drummer and punk and hip-hop. Mostly I don't listen to experimental rap but in between there are gems, the same with all music genres."

"My friend Leila Arab turned me on to them. I love their songs, especially Full Moon (Death Classic) and Guillotine. Intense rapping, lyrics and lush beats. It's all good. They stand out because they're visceral, but also the global, fresh mix of a black English guy and a white Cali drummer and punk and hip-hop. Mostly I don't listen to experimental rap but in between there are gems, the same with all music genres."

"I wanted to mention a Spanish film because I’m Spanish. Criterion just released — I think this week — they just released The Executioner. Not many people know that film but it’s been considered the best Spanish movie ever. It’s black and white, it was made in 1963, and it’s a black comedy about the death penalty. It’s about this guy who falls in love with the daughter of an executioner and how, somehow — we find one thing: that he’s becoming more into the position of the father of his girlfriend, and eventually he becomes an executioner. That was shown during the Franco regime under a cruel, ferocious censorship regime. It’s as funny as depressing. It’s a very unique film, and it’s considered probably one of the more important Spanish films ever."