Here you go. I tried to translate everything as faithfully as possible. I will say I took a few liberties with his responses just to make them sound more natural in English, but I promise I didn't alter the sentiment of what was being said anywhere. Enjoy
"I felt I needed a place where I could be away from all the pressure, a place I could just be by myself at home, invite over friends and company when I wanted, and just play music for the love of playing it. It took a while to adjust to the new situation and lifestyle there, but in the end everything started to feel normal, comfortable. During those years, I changed the way I thought too, the way I lived my life. I used to play the victim quite often, feeling the world was a harsh and hostile place. Now, instead, I try to open myself up to new opportunities. I realized that it's possible for someone, myself included, to be the most sensitive person in the world but also the most heartless. Sometimes you can do both at the same time. And realizing and accepting that is very liberating."
You are greatly admired by many of your contemporaries, from Thom Yorke to Radiohead, even Bono of U2. Who do you look up to?
"Probably Leonard Cohen, a simply wonderful human being. I had the privilege of opening a few shows for him and meeting him was a very powerful experience. Leonard, more than anyone else, taught me to use msuic to discover even the darkest and most obscure sides of my mind and to live with that newfound awareness of myself. I learned so much from him, from his kindness, from his wonderful openness and simplicity in living."
The tickets for your only concert in Italy, on October 23rd in Milan, sold out in two days. How do you handle knowing that you really are a celebrity to so many people around the world?
"If you had asked me that ten years ago, I would have had a very problematic time dealing with something like that, responding to that sort of question. Today though, it's something that I have come to understand and accept at a very deep level. I've seen this type of adoration for many artists, Cohen included. My response now is that it's not me, it's my music that reaches out and touches all those people. They might believe that it's Damien Rice doing it, but in truth that's not how it is. I am only the channel through which the music flows."