We're surrounded by it. Inside, outside, music takes you over in a way that, say, literature can't. For me, the visual arts are less powerful. The viewer has to have a greater focus, a greater concentration, to be overwhelmed by a work of visual art or literature. There's a greater participation on the part of the reader, let's say, or the viewer.
Music has the power to seduce, to overwhelm.
The only comparable medium could be film, but I do think music has the edge. It's a political act, in a way, to create music that has that potency, because there's a possibility of fundamentally changing the awareness or consciousness of another human being. I think music acts as an environment in which listeners feel comfortable enough to open up to themselves. It allows for a certain security, if you like. They're cradled by the music.