Steve Reich

“There's just a lot of music that sounds like it's computer-generated, created by people who don't know how to play an instrument.”

“I discovered that the most interesting music of all was made by simply lining the loops up in unison, and letting them slowly shift out of phase with each other.”

“What I’m interested in is a compositional process and a sounding music that are one and the same thing.”

“The music is not the result of a system; the system is the result of the music.”

“Yes, to me, that's one of the most compelling things about music, the transcendent aspect.”

“I am not a minimalist, I am a maximalist.”

“Music is, for me, a way of saying things that can't be said in any other way.”

“To facilitate a gradual process, one that is literally music as a gradual process, I will use the term 'phasing'.”

“You can't really not be influenced by rock and roll.”

“I want to make music that is intensely emotional but also formally rigorous.”

“A lot of my music is about process, and I'm interested in making the process audible.”

“Technology is a double-edged sword. It can be a great liberator, but it can also be a great tyrant.”

“I believe that music is a moral force.”

“The pulse is the basic reality of music.”

“I think it would be a great mistake to be scared of moving towards the vernacular.”

“Serialism is a dead end.”

“The world is not a machine. An organic model of the world is more to the point.”