Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheikis an American singer-songwriter and composer. Initially finding success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing", he later expanded to compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, such as the successful musical, Spring Awakening, where he won multiple Tonys and a Grammy. Sheik practices Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of the US branch of the worldwide Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth18 November 1969
CityMontclair, NJ
CountryUnited States of America
I mean, at the end of the day when I'm making a record, what I want to do is what I do
I feel fortunate about being able to make the music I want to make and getting away with it
Because of my Buddhist practice, I'm never lacking for inspiration
But really important, perhaps most important is the craft; how you make your record, the creation of these sonic worlds you want your listener to hear.
A real foolproof way to do it is play your stuff by hook or by crook and build up a grass roots following
And frankly, when I made that record, hit songs were not what I was trying to achieve.
I also wanted to make a record that was about other things than romance, yeah, after two years on the road singing all the songs from the first album, I got kind of tired of that.
For my second record I had gotten ProTools and started to familiar myself with hard disc recording.
I wouldn't say that I've had a tough life by any stretch of the imagination.
I'm a pretty big P.J. Harvey record fan and you can really hear New York in his record
Ultimately, if I'm really moved by something, it's going to go on the record and that's that
Things come to me pretty regularly. There is never a shortage or a backlog
My first two records were more energetic; Phantom Moon is subtle, quiet; so these various reactions are just something I expected
I think my Buddhist practice has a profound influence on my life and encompasses my creative projects