Sufjan Stevens has questioned the point of making music, saying albums are obsolete and songs are beyond him.

Speaking to Exclaim Magazine, the 34-year-old indie icon admitted he was in the midst of an “existential crisis” and went on to bemoan the state of music.

He said: "I definitely feel like, 'What is the point? What's the point of making music any more?'

“I feel that the album no longer has a stronghold or has any real bearing any more. The physical format is obsolete; the CD is obsolete and the LP is kinda nostalgic. So, I think the album is suffering and that's how I've always created – I work with these conceptual albums in the long-form.

“And I'm wondering, what's the value of my work once these forms are obsolete and everyone's just downloading music?"

Reflecting on his own musical output, which has seen him release a string of concept albums of sorts, Stevens continued: "I'm starting to get sick of my conceptual ideas.

"I'm tired of these grand, epic endeavours and wanting to just make music for the joy of making music and having it be immediate and nothing to do with the industry itself."

Seemingly at his lowest ebb, Stevens added: "What am I doing? What's the point of a song? Is a song antiquated? The format itself – a narrative song with accompaniment – is really beyond me now."

(by Scott Colothan)