Born on November 14: Stuart Staples, delicate goldsmith of the Tindersticks

Since 1993, the Nottingham native who is celebrating his 59th birthday has constantly been refining his talent. With excellence in mind…

His very particular vocal timbre, his flair for writing and his desire for permanent experimentation chisel Tindersticks' precious and unique musical universe, a group entirely devoted to the arpeggios that Stuart Staples shapes, embroiders and braids with the patience of a spider weaving its web. Both instantly recognizable and intrinsically original, each of his creations arouses the same indescribable thrill. Tindersticks' music is both great art and obvious melodies that invite a form of meditation.

Stuart Staples' work has now reached an indisputable level of sophistication, always using strings, the artist has sometimes claimed simple pleasures, as suggested by the title of an album released in 1999, "Simple Pleasure". It was relative, of course. Because with Tindersticks, the listener's attention and a certain level of effort is always required. Of course, the detractors of the English group will rightly reproach him for this apparent lack of melodic renewal, but this is obviously a false accusation. 

Stuart is also loyal in friendship. By devoting himself very naturally to writing film music, he comes through for the French director Claire Denis who has a few Berlin bears and Cannes palms to her list of conquests on 6 occasions. In 2014, to celebrate the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, the composer of songs, often between lament and recitative, was judiciously chosen for the sound design of the exhibition "In Flanders Fields" in Ypres in Belgium. 

A little more cheerful, no doubt thanks to the contribution of brass instruments, is the magnificent "New World", the latest album "Soft Tissue" (2024) still distils the same melancholic atmospheres dear to Stuart, and in which he once again includes some gospel overtones. In the end, the only mistake not to make with the Tindersticks would be to undertake the listening of their complete discography without any pause. In this case, a form of neurasthenia (admittedly potentially cathartic) is not to be excluded. Abuse is harmful in everything...

(Stéphane Soupart - Trad.: Melissa Hekkers - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Stuart Staples with The Tindersticks on stage at Bozar in Brussels (Belgium) on May 2, 2022.