Once you're in a particular country, and you're surrounded by musicians who are so adept at traditional music, you suddenly realize how much there is to explore and digest and learn and experience.

Apart from Scottish traditional music, I wasn't really influenced by any kind of music. I just basically followed my own instincts.

It's the things that you notice when you're not actually with your instrument that, in fact, become so interesting, and that you - you want to explore, through this tiny tiny surface of a drum.

Of course, I just assumed that the world was full of solo percussionists. It was only when I studied music full time, in London, that I realized that the career of a full-time classical percussionist did not in fact exist. It had to be created.

Music really is our daily medicine.

I'm not a deaf musician. I'm a musician who happens to be deaf.