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" As I listened more and more to the music that moved me, I gained more fascination with America. "

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" Growing up, I always saw the hypocrisy of the Catholic church. The history speaks for itself, and I grew incredibly frustrated and angry. I essentially just put that into my words. "

" Being 16 is the worst time to be anybody, there is not enough tea in China to persuade me to be that young again. I wasn't very happy with myself. "

" I am a politically motivated person, and that will come through in the music. "

" There's not a lot of room for thinking in popular culture; there's not a lot of room for being conflicted. "

Popular Culture

" One of my biggest influences of all time would be somebody like Tom Waits. David Bowie is another huge influence. I'm also a big fan of St. Vincent and Leslie Feist. "

" I'd love to do something with somebody like James Blake. "

" Blues is a very physical music. "

" When I first started to sing, I just swung at it with an axe. "

" There are a few Irish writers who have a very strong influence on me, especially on the 'Take Me to Church' EP. "

" The success of 'Take Me To Church,' I never imagined it. I never imagined that it would work on radio, that it would find its way onto the charts, even at home and certainly not in America. "

" You grow up and recognize that in any educated secular society, there's no excuse for ignorance. You have to recognize in yourself, and challenge yourself, that if you see racism or homophobia or misogyny in a secular society, as a member of that society, you should challenge it. You owe it to the betterment of society. "

" I dabbled with faith, and I explored religion quite thoroughly. "

" I was never academically driven in English, but, again, Tom Waits is a perfect example of an influence. He writes so immaculately and paints so perfectly a world and the characters within it. There are writers like that who are my influences: vivid and gifted storytellers. "

" It's kind of strange to hear your songs sung back to you! You get a big insight into what people connect to, what's moving to people or what songs people are really into. "

" One of my first festivals was Oxygen 2006. It had this amazing lineup with the Arctic Monkeys on their first or second album, the Strokes, Kings of Leon, the Magic Numbers and then the Who and James Brown. I waited in the pit for a good eight hours to see James Brown. "

" I love Muddy Waters and Nina Simone. I also watched 'The Blues Brothers' movie over and over. "

" I'm quite sure I don't want legions of 15-year-old girls who call themselves, like, Broziers or something. My career isn't going to be that kind of a thing. "

" I think it is important to differentiate between lip service towards something and actually making change. "

" Growing up in Ireland, there are a lot of aspects of God that hang in the air. And my music reflects that. "

" If I fall into a city, I fall into a scene, and I just don't want to get distracted and enjoy myself too much. There's too much work to be done. "

" The way I did the first album... the way I wrote 'Church'... was just to trust my instincts with the music and let it kind of do what it does. "

" I'm not sure if every song will be 'Take Me to Church,' but I can only hope that people enjoy the body of work that I have ahead of me. "

" I look at all good things with a bit of a dark lens, I suppose, especially with something like love. "

" If I could, I'd sing old French songs or American folk music, but I sure as hell can't do it as well as Mississippi John Hurt - no way in hell am I getting near that! "

" I tried to avoid anything that caused me frustration or grief or duress. I played FarmVille and procrastinated like all teenagers. "

" I love a good party - but I'm not all that attracted to a celebrity lifestyle. "

" I try to be happy. I try to face things without regret or make sure that I'm happy with things and leave nothing unsaid if I can. "

" Biggest musical influences would be people like Nina Simone and Tom Waits. A huge amount of writers like Leslie Feist and Paul Simon. "

" The best vocalists I can think of are female. "

" Especially on the road, it's very hard to find time to actually sit down and write. "