[10] Braithwaite's family, on his mother's side, originate from Flesherin on the Isle of Lewis; he was born in Lanark and raised in the rural Clyde Valley.

[12] Braithwaite grew up listening to records by The Cure, Joy Division, The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, Black Sabbath and other artists.

Braithwaite met Dominic Aitchison at a Ned's Atomic Dustbin show at the Queen Margaret Union in Glasgow on 10 April 1991, and four years later, along with school friend Martin Bulloch, they formed Mogwai.

The film was directed by Niall McCann and brought Braithwaite (along with members of The Delgados, Franz Ferdinand and others) to Mauron, Brittany, to recreate a gig they played there just after Mogwai had formed.

Lost in France premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to wholly positive reviews and was called "Funny, vital and sobering"[14] by Scotland's arts publication The Skinny.

"[16] Braithwaite's musical technique is characterised by the heavy usage of effects pedals,[17] used to create ambient instrumental guitar sounds.