Anyone who loves Sufjan Stevens feels a strong connection with him through his music, but rarely does he offer himself up outside of the orchestrated chaos to explain how life proceeds on the daily. However, The Guardian's The Observer had a chance to sit with him for a moment in his atmosphere, take it all in and report it back to us. You can read the entire article posted yesterday on their website.
Also, here are some highlights from throughout the article that should convince you to dive headfirst into Tim Lewis' examination of this prolific artist:
On his previous mental health issues:
One morning, a couple of years ago, Stevens woke up in a sweat. He felt intensely lethargic and had pins and needles in his mouth, his hands and feet, rushing up his arms and legs. He was experiencing extreme adrenaline surges in his chest, almost as if he had been poisoned. He went over what he had eaten, but what he was feeling was otherwordly. "This was really supernatural," he explains now, his eyes wide. "It was like I was possessed."
On his home life:
He looks a little wary, perhaps remembering why he gives so few interviews, then continues. "Even my apartment has a semblance of a storage facility. It's just stacks, there are no bookshelves, just books and piles of stamp collections and weird little sewing and knitting projects." (That's right, knitting: hats and scarves for the most part and the odd sweater that he makes in his crochet club. What of it?)
On The Age of Adz:
"It's very hormonal, a lot of this stuff feels like a second puberty," he continues. "It's way more self-obsessed and leans towards masochism and solipsism and paranoia and anxiety. I'm a very self-conscious person, I think we all are, but I'm especially not very comfortable in my body. I always feel really weird and awkward on the street or on the stage. It has nothing to do with circumstances, it's just an ongoing psychological state, like white noise."
(via The Guardian)