Stuart Ashton Staples (born 14 November 1965 in Basford, Nottinghamshire)[1] is an English musician best known as the lead singer of indie band Tindersticks, in which he also plays guitar. Staples has a very recognizable vocal style and a distinctively low, nasal voice. 　　Prior to co-founding Tindersticks, Staples played in a band called Asphalt Ribbons, whose final line-up was nearly identical to that of his later band.[2] He has released two solo albums: Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04 and Leaving Songs. He has composed the soundtrack to two films by Claire Denis, L'Intrus (2004)[3][4] and White Material (2009).[5] Tindersticks had previously recorded the music to two other Denis films, Nénette et Boni and Trouble Every Day.[2] In 2007 he collaborated with David Boulter composing the soundtrack to Tot Ziens! (We'll meet Again), a short by Belgian director Klaus Verscheure. 　　In 2017, the British Film Institute released Minute Bodies, a film he directed and scored with Christine Ott and Thomas Belhom of films by the naturalist F. Percy Smith.[6]