Top 43 Quotes & Sayings by Mura Masa

I didn't want to just be making music randomly and not have any direction.

If you grew up in London's East End you'd probably be inclined to be into something like grime music. But if you're removed from it, like in Guernsey, you can have a wider set of influences, and you're not tied down to any genre or any scene. I think that affects my sound, for sure.

I did shows for a while without a rider, actually, because nobody tells you that it comes out of your fee.

It's very white in Guernsey, not racist, but there's not a lot of understanding about different cultures there. So I grew up there then moved to Brighton and found all these other people with different experiences, different narratives.

SoundCloud was my first break I guess. I got a little bit of a following.That whole bedroom producer genre was kind of kicking itself into gear, and SoundCloud was becoming more of a hub for producers at the time.

There was a footballer, Matt Le Tissier, from Guernsey. But as far as music, no, not many people have come out of there.

I was always heavily interested in underground musical movements, the post-dubstep scene; Mount Kimbie were coming out, and bands like that.

You're not really taken seriously when you're on SoundCloud because anybody can upload. It's the same as standing on a street corner and trying to push your mixtape.

I was hedging my bets with university. I always wanted to do music, it was just about waiting for the point when I could confidently say 'okay, I reckon there's enough momentum behind this thing to sustain myself.'

But I guess the first time I made career money was signing a publishing deal when I was still at uni. That was when I waited to tell my mum that I was dropping out, which was half-way through my first year.

When I started making music I wanted it to have a narrative and be conceptual, but as time went on I thought it was probably more practical for a first album just to have good music.

I think I can pinpoint the moment that I realized that I enjoyed hip-hop music and it was the video game called Need For Speed Underground.

Maybe I'm too selfish to just be a producer. Also, I feel like I have something to say that's interesting or unique.

There is maybe a danger of dwelling on the past, but I think that's far less dangerous than moving forward without learning and not being able to find joy in happy memories and things like that.

What's wrong with being a snowflake? I think if you're calling someone a snowflake that just means you've been upset by something they're saying. We're all vulnerable, get over it.

After the first album, I felt like I needed to one up myself - get even bigger features - and I spent six months thinking about that and not making any music.

I was at Sussex University studying English lit and philosophy, I had two essays due in and three seminars that day, and at the same time I was messaging my manager because I'd just started to put together the pieces of like, 'Wow. I really don't want to be doing any essays anymore. Why don't I just give this music thing a go?'

I'm a child of the internet.

The first time I played at Green Door Store in Brighton, which is under the train station. It was sold out by 150 people.

There's a need for music that has urgency and emotional honesty. That's why people are reintroducing themselves to guitar music - that instrument has an ability to emote.

Being from a background of dance music and what you might call club music or electronic music, I think something that gets neglected in that scene is personal vulnerability.

I grew up on a tiny island called Guernsey, very small population, very isolated culturally but very beautiful and serene.

I like having the radio on, that way you're challenged to listen to things that aren't your choice.

When I was growing up in the early noughties, I remember the time being very serene, peaceful and innocent. But actually there was Tony Blair's oil wars going on halfway across the world.

I've always appreciated having a wide music taste, despite making what a lot of people would call electronic music.

There's only so many ways you can cope with being in dire means, and one way is humour.

A lot of electronic musicians probably wouldn't be bothered making an album, which strategically makes total sense.

I definitely don't want to appropriate... not in an 'overly PC' way though.

I got into James Blake quite early, like when I was early teen, and that was really important for me.

When you meet your idols, I'm not one of those people - like if I saw Prince on the street, I wouldn't say anything. Because I'd want him to meet me. You want to meet people on the right terms or if there's a reason for you to meet.

The way streaming is going, this movement in the market of music would suggest that doing a long-form project, especially for a new artist like me - someone who relies on a lot of digital following - it would make more sense for me to release the songs individually.

When things socially and politically get difficult, punk music suddenly comes back again, and there's just a really healthy pivot away from music that's not humanly understandable.

At a young age, I was introduced to Joni Mitchell by my mum. My dad was into progressive rock.

The only memorable people who came to Guernsey in my lifetime were Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 - I swear that was the first hip-hop show in Guernsey ever - plus The Hoosiers.

I'm very much a nostalgic optimist.

I think the first song I remember hearing was Joni Michell's 'Big Yellow Taxi,' my mom played it for me on the car radio.

I feel like people are now praying for some authenticity and some human touch to music. There's no simpler outlet to that than guitar and piano.

All punk music is is rebellion, going against the grain. It takes different forms. Sometimes it's a band throwing their instruments around or making really violent and noisy sounds, but it doesn't have to take that sonic form. It can take more of an energy.

I think there's a huge pivot in popular music, and just in culture in general, towards art that is vulnerable and emotionally honest.

If you're not changing what you're doing and exploring different parts of your musical output, I think you're slowly dying.

I started playing violin when I was about five years old and I learned to read a little bit of music, but that's all been long, long forgotten! I actually quit violin to teach myself guitar and just went from there.

I grew up kind of poor, so like, I know it sounds pretentious, but I don't really know how to spend money.

I think everybody had this weird mix of pubescent rage and sadness, and just pure mania and joy. It's a really weird time.