Aidan Moffat

In 1995, Moffat and Malcolm Middleton began making music under the name Arab Strap and sent in demo cassettes to record companies. Only one, Chemikal Underground, replied, and they were soon signed to them. Moffat and Middleton briefly reunited in November 2011 for a gig as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of Glasgow venue Nice N Sleazy. They reunited again in 2016, for three shows at London's Electric Brixton, Manchester's O2 Ritz and Glasgow's Barrowlands Ballroom. A second Glasgow show was added after the first one sold out in under half an hour, along with a warm-up show in Newcastle. On 24 November 2020 the band announced their new album, As Days Get Dark, set to be released on 5 March 2021.[5]

In 2002, after being challenged by Malcolm Middleton to record a solo album,[6] Moffat released a solo album entitled Hypnogogia under the name Lucky Pierre. In 2005, after changing the name to L. Pierre, Moffat released an album called Touchpool. In 2007 he released Dip. In early 2013 Moffat released a new L. Pierre album, The Island Come True. In July he released another full album, The Eternalist, which was made available for free online and recorded on Vine.

From 1991 to 1996, Moffat recorded with a band called The Angry Buddhists, which consisted of himself, Gavin Moffat, Stuart the Postman, "Cheg" Taylor and The Stobe. They recorded "over 40 songs on dictaphones and 4-tracks", but never played live. Moffat was also the drummer in Bay, a band who released two albums: Happy Being Different (1994) and Alison Rae (1995).[7]

Moffat provided guest vocals on the Mogwai song "R U Still in 2 It" from Mogwai Young Team, recorded in the same studio in Hamilton) where the same time as Arab Strap were recording The Week Never Starts Round Here. He also contributed vocals to the Mogwai song "Now You're Taken" from 4 Satin. Mogwai have a song dedicated to him on their second album, Come on Die Young, entitled "Waltz for Aidan". In 2002, Moffat, Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai and Colin "Sheepy" McPherson released an eponymously titled EP under the name "The Sick Anchors".

Aidan Moffat & the Best-Ofs are a four-piece band fronted by Moffat. They played their first gig supporting American band Slint at the Glasgow ABC in Scotland, where they debuted the songs "Big Blonde", "The Last Kiss", "Ballad of the Unsent Letter", "Living With You Now" and "Atheist's Lament". Their first album, titled How to Get to Heaven From Scotland, was released on 3 March 2009.

In 2011 Moffat and pianist, bassist and former Arab Strap collaborator Bill Wells released Everything's Getting Older, which in June 2012 won the first Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award from the Scottish Music Industry Association.[8] In May 2018 Moffat released a joint album with longtime friend and collaborator RM Hubbert titled Here Lies the Body.

Moffat used his own name for his 2007 poetry album, I Can Hear Your Heart. In 2009 Moffat wrote an advice column for the online magazine The Quietus.[9]

In 2016 Moffat featured in the documentary Where You're Meant to Be, in which he toured Scotland performing his reinterpretations of traditional Scottish folk songs. The film also features the traditional singer Sheila Stewart who is critical of the project, viewing it as disrespecting the tradition, but ultimately performs alongside Moffat during a show at the Glasgow Barrowlands.[10]