"MewithoutYou are a post-hardcore band who suddenly released this weird folk concept album. This was after I released Poetry Of The Deed in 2009 and I started to feel slightly like I had run into a brick wall as a songwriter. I was thinking maybe my road was run. I heard that record and instantly went, ‘Oh f***, there’s so much more to do' My American tour manager played me that record and I lost my mind. It is one of the most brilliantly written, composed and arranged records I’ve ever heard. It almost shamed me into not giving up. There’s that tendency that some people have that, because they’re not feeling inspired, then music is over in some way. We’ve just had Kasabian talking about it recently. I was guilty of it. I heard that record and instantly went, 'Oh fuck, there’s so much more to do."

"Star Wars, the first trilogy. Obviously Star Wars is one of the landmark films of all time, being ahead of its time with special effects — the overall scope and perspective of that film being what it was at that time; not to mention the ingenuity of the story line and the character development of all of those films. I really like the fact that not only are we dealing with great characters, great storylines, great special effects, and all of those things, there’s the extra added element of spirituality, which a lot of people seem to either not recognize or ignore. But the fact is you’re talking about the dark side of the Force and the light side and what’s good and evil, and the Emperor, and the politics; there’s a lot of politics involved. I think it’s a great reflection on life as a whole."