In a Guardian "Honest Playlist" interview, trip-hop pioneer Tricky reflects candidly on the songs that have shaped his life, from teenage romance to his views on music's role in intimacy. He dismisses the idea of songs being made "to have sex to," despite fans repeatedly telling him his music has soundtracked their relationships, and even conception, calling the connection between sex and music "weird" rather than something he intentionally cultivates.

Among his picks, Gregory Isaacs' Night Nurse recalls a teenage relationship that produced a daughter, now 35 and working as a social worker in Bristol, while Van Morrison's Astral Weeks moves him to tears by evoking memories of his mother. He credits the Specials' Too Much Too Young, and seeing the band live, with convincing him a career in music was possible, and cites Eric B and Rakim's Check Out My Melody as one he can still rap in full 40 years on. He also reveals an unlikely soft spot for Sia's Breathe Me. Tricky's new album, When It's Silent, is out now.