'Perfection is a second-rate idea': T Bone Burnett on releasing his first album in 11 years

If you take a look at some of the most acclaimed, bestselling records of the past 30 years, there's a good chance you'll find the name T Bone Burnett in the producer credits.

Burnett has produced records by the likes of Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. He's also worked on film and television soundtracks, including HBO's True Detective, the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, and the Coen brothers' classic films O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Big Lebowski.

Despite being a prolific record producer, Burnett's own discography has been sporadic. On April 12, he'll release his first album of new studio songs in 11 years, an experimental record titled The Invisible Light: Acoustic Space.

"I've hidden behind other people for most of my life," Burnett told q's Tom Power. "I had no ambition to be a performer when I was young and I've always been ambivalent about the whole public performer, celebrity routine. But at this point, it's irrelevant to me. I want to do this, I want to play and record and write and sing."

In his conversation with Power, Burnett opens up about the music that's shaped his life and his approach to recording. He also shares some stories about touring with Bob Dylan, recording with Costello and how he pulled together one of the most influential movie soundtracks of all time — an album that essentially saved an entire genre of music.

Click 'listen' near the top of this page to hear the full interview with T Bone Burnett. 

— Produced by ​Chris Trowbridge