Not the best – everyone’s got their own idea of who the best is – but who your favourite is, of all time. The artist who makes the music you like the most.
I’ll start with Soulwax. I love how they wear their influences on their sleeves but use them to inform really good pop. You can tell they’ve listened to a fuck tonne of music in their time, and it makes for some really well crafter tunes, with great melodies, harmonies and beats.
Both of these have been my favourites at differing points in my life. Right now I couldn’t say I have an absolute favourite, possibly Sun Kil Moon come the closest but I tend to spread the love these days.
I got into them very late, way after they disbanded. I first heard them in the late 90s. I guess people’s favourite bands are always those where people identify so very closely with the sound and the lyrics. It was those for me and Galaxie 500. Very underrated and perhaps many/most people haven’t heard of them. Do check the band out.
Annoyingly my all time favourite artist are also about the least prolific, Tool.
I remember hearing the album Undertow for the first time in around 1994 and it was as if they’d written it specifically for me it ticked all my boxes. So when Aenima came out in 1996 I bought it as soon as it came out and the whole album gave me shivers down the spine, I listened to it on pretty much permanent rotation for about a month. It has become my favourite album of all time and I still give it regular listens.
Having to wait 5 years in between the next two albums seemed torture, been waiting 11 years now for the next one but I will not give up, I continue to believe they will release one soon(ish) and it will be amazing!