FKA Twigs

Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 16 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylised as FKA twigs), is an English singer and songwriter. Raised in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, she became a backup dancer after moving to South London when she was 17 years old. She made her musical debut with the extended plays EP1 (2012) and EP2 (2013).

FKA Twigs
Twigs performing in Sydney, 2015
Born
Tahliah Debrett Barnett

(1988-01-16) 16 January 1988
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • director
  • dancer
  • actress
Years active2004–present
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Labels
Associated acts

Her debut studio album, LP1, was released in August 2014 to critical acclaim, peaking at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart and number 30 on the US Billboard 200. It was later nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize. She released the M3LL155X EP in 2015 to further critical acclaim, as well as her second studio album Magdalene four years later. Her work has been described as "genre-bending",[7] drawing on various genres including electronic music, trip hop, R&B, and avant-garde.

Early life

Tahliah Debrett Barnett[8] was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and raised in nearby Tewkesbury. Her father is Jamaican, and her mother is an Englishwoman of partly Spanish descent who used to be a dancer and gymnast.[9] Barnett was raised by her mother and stepfather. She did not meet her father, a jazz dancer, until she was 18.[10] She grew up in Gloucestershire, and has described the county as "kind of in the middle of nowhere".[9] She attended St Edward's School, Cheltenham,[11] a private Catholic school.[12] She came from a low-income family and her education at the school was paid for by an academic scholarship.[13] From a young age, she undertook opera and ballet lessons.[14]

At 16, Barnett started making music in youth clubs.[10] At 17, she moved to South London to pursue a career as a dancer.[15] She worked as a backup dancer in music videos by artists such as Kylie Minogue, Plan B, Ed Sheeran, Taio Cruz, Dionne Bromfield, Jessie J, and Wretch 32.[16] She was a backup dancer for Jessie J in her 2010 video for "Do It like a Dude",[17] and appeared again in her 2011 video for "Price Tag".[18] She also appeared in Dionne Bromfield's video "Yeah Right".[19] In 2011, she appeared in a two-minute BBC comedy sketch titled Beyoncé Wants Groceries,[20] in which she was a backup dancer in a supermarket.[17] At 18, she began working with local London producers to try to find what she calls "her sound". Around this time is when she wrote "I'm Your Doll". She ended up producing a lot of "really bad demos".[21] For a time, she worked as a hostess in a gentleman's club, an occupation which included sex work.[22]

Career

2012–2013: EP1 and EP2

In August 2012, Twigs was photographed for the cover of i-D magazine.[23] She became known as Twigs for the way her joints crack.[9] She added the initialism FKA to her name when a duo called The Twigs, consisting of two twin sisters complained about her use of the name.[9] Several sources have claimed that the "FKA" stands for "Formerly Known As",[24][25][26] but Twigs has said in multiple interviews that the letters do not stand for anything in particular: "[I]t’s just a collection of letters. I was gonna be like FK1 Twigs…or AFK Twigs…I just wanted a selection of letters that sounded quite kind of masculine and strong. FKA just worked. It doesn’t stand for anything, it’s just capital letters."[27][28]

Twigs self-released her music debut, EP1 (also called "twigs"), on Bandcamp on 4 December 2012. She posted a video for each song on her YouTube channel.[17] In August 2013, Twigs released the video for her first single, "Water Me", on YouTube.[29] The video was directed by Jesse Kanda.[30] That same month The Guardian profiled Twigs for their "New Band of the Day" feature, describing her as "the UK's best example to date of ethereal, twisted R&B."[31] Twigs's second extended play, EP2, was released through the Young Turks record label in September.[32] It was produced by Twigs and Arca. Pitchfork gave EP2 a rating of 8/10.[33] In December, she was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2014 prize, and she was chosen by Spotify for their Spotlight on 2014 list.[34][35] Twigs was then featured on Billboard's 14 Artists to Watch in 2014.[36]

2014–2017: LP1 and M3LL155X
Twigs performing in Amsterdam in March 2015

In April 2014, Twigs appeared on the cover of The Fader for its 91st issue.[37] She then directed and starred in the music video for "Ouch Ouch" by rapper Lucki Eck$. She also produced the track.[38] She began writing for her debut studio album during a period of "self-hatred", which she considers "quite normal" for a young person.[21] Twigs's debut studio album, LP1, was released in August through Young Turks.[39] Time magazine gave the album a positive review, saying that Twigs has "made that transition to one of the most compelling and complex acts in R&B."[40] Twigs then announced a world tour starting on 2 October at The Dome in Brighton, East Sussex and ending on 3 December in Orlando, Florida at The Social.[41]

In August 2014, Twigs was signed to London-based production company Academy Films as part of their A+ roster. She has since uploaded three videos on 20 August to her YouTube Channel which she directed: a video titled "Wet Wipez", starring the London dance crew of the same name, a video titled "tw-ache", which is a remix of the EP1 song "Ache", and a video for the Lucki Eck$ track "Ouch Ouch", which she also produced.

In September 2014, LP1 was revealed as one of the nominees for the 2014 Mercury Prize.[42] The same month, Twigs performed on BBC's Later... with Jools Holland.[43] In October, a video for "Video Girl" was released, as well as an advert for Google Glass which Twigs directed.[44] Twigs made her US television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 4 November.[45]

On 7 November 2014, producer Boots announced he was working with Twigs on her third EP.[46][47] The video for "Glass & Patron", the first song released from the EP, was posted Twigs's official YouTube channel on 23 March 2015. It was directed by Twigs.[48] In February 2015, she performed Congregata, a theatrical "coming together" and choreographed performance that visualised "the story of my life while making this album" at the Roundhouse in Camden London.[49]

Twigs performing in Berlin in March 2015

On 15 May 2015, on her official Instagram account, she posted a picture of men posing with jackets on that had an image of Twigs' face from the "Papi Pacify" video with Twigs captioning the pic "coming soon... <3", hinting at either FKA Twigs merchandise or EP3's alleged release in the summer. During an interview with Complex magazine released in June, she stated that she had changed the title of the EP to Melissa, and that it would be released within two months. She confirmed it would include the songs "Glass & Patron", "Mothercreep", "I'm Your Doll", "Figure 8", and "In Time".[50] The EP, stylised as M3LL155X, was released on 13 August 2015, containing all five tracks and accompanied by four videos, which were directed by Twigs herself, featuring pregnancy, sex dolls, vogueing and Rick Owens' wife Michele Lamy. The title of the EP reads as "Melissa" and is named after the artist's "personal female energy".

On 18 February 2016, Twigs debuted a new song and music video titled "Good to Love".[51] The song premiered at Soundtrack 7, her seven-day residency at Manchester International Festival that took place in July 2015.[52] She also performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 24 February 2016.[53] On 9 July 2016, Twigs debuted a new stage show called "Radiant Me²" at Moscow's Lastochka Festival, where she unveiled three previously unheard songs.[54]

In August 2016, the dance film Soundtrack 7 was premiered. Directed by Twigs, the film was created, performed and filmed on-site across seven days at Manchester International Festival in 2015.[55][56]

Twigs has also done advertising work, directing ( Her short Film Soundtrack 7), narrating and starring in a television ad for Nike,[57] and gaining worldwide visibility dancing in Apple's advertisement for HomePod.[58]

2018–present: Magdalene

Twigs appeared on A$AP Rocky's album Testing in 2018, featuring on the track "Fukk Sleep".

On 24 April 2019, Twigs released her single, "Cellophane",[59] her first release since "Good to Love" in 2016. In September 2019, Twigs announced her second album, co-produced with Nicolas Jaar, would be titled Magdalene, supported by second single "Holy Terrain" (featuring Future) on 9 September.[60] On 7 October 2019, Twigs released a third single, "Home with You", and announced that the album would be delayed until 8 November.[61] She also acted in the 2019 film Honey Boy.

In August 2020, she appeared in an OnlyFans-inspired music video for the song "Sum Bout U" with rapper 645AR.[62]

Musical style and influences

Possessing a soprano voice,[63][64][65] Twigs's music has been described as "genre-bending",[7] drawing on a variety of styles, including electronic music, R&B, trip hop, choral music, industrial, and avant-garde.[66][67][68] Her work has been compared to that of Tricky[69] as well as Kate Bush, Janet Jackson, The xx, and Massive Attack,[70] while Slate described her work as distinctive in a way that rises above her influences.[71] The Wall Street Journal described her as "an heir to futuristic R&B muses like Aaliyah, Missy Elliott and others under the progressive sway of producer Timbaland."[1] Describing her artistry, she said: "I am not restricted by any musical genre. I like to experiment with sounds, generating emotions while putting my voice on certain atmospheres [...] I found my own way of playing punk. I like industrial sounds and incorporating everyday life's sounds like a car alarm."[72]

Twigs has been associated with the alternative R&B tag, though she herself has rejected the R&B label as related to her race:

It's just because I'm mixed race. When I first released music and no one knew what I looked like, I would read comments like: 'I've never heard anything like this before, it's not in a genre.' And then my picture came out six months later, now she's an R&B singer. I share certain sonic threads with classical music; my song 'Preface' is like a hymn. So let's talk about that. If I was white and blonde and said I went to church all the time, you'd be talking about the 'choral aspect'. But you're not talking about that because I'm a mixed-race girl from south London.[73]

The first singers who influenced Twigs were Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Marvin Gaye. When she started composing songs, she wanted to reproduce music she liked: "every bit of music that I made sounded like a pastiche of Siouxsie and the Banshees or Adam Ant. But through that I discovered myself".[74] In an interview after being shortlisted for the 2014 Mercury Prize, Twigs cited Germfree Adolescents by X-Ray Spex as her favourite album of all time.[75]

Personal life

In September 2014, Twigs began dating actor Robert Pattinson. They were rumoured to be engaged, but never publicly confirmed it. The couple split in the summer of 2017.[76]

In May 2018, Twigs revealed via Instagram that she underwent surgery to remove fibroid tumors from her uterus in December 2017. She described her experience as "living with a fruit bowl of pain every day" and saluted the bravery of other women living with the condition.[77]

Discography
Main article: FKA Twigs discography

Awards and nominations
See also: List of awards and nominations received by FKA Twigs
gollark: D is also a thing which exists, although it has less of an ecosystem than Go.
gollark: F#'s pretty cool if you like .NET.
gollark: I use Node.js (well, TypeScript, really), heretically, for web applications.
gollark: Those are probably rare.
gollark: Python is fairly nice for simple scripting purposes and arguably type-safer a lot of the time.

References
  1. Battaglia, Andy. "FKA Twigs' Futuristic R&B, Violent Femmes' Acoustic Punk". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  2. Adams, Gregory. "FKA twigs Treats 'EP1' to Vinyl Reissue". Exclaim!. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  3. Fraden, Angel. "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: FKA twigs". Cypher League. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  4. Sawyer, Miranda (28 September 2019). "FKA twigs: 'An incredible woman always in the shadow of a man? I can relate'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2019. The queen of art pop has written her most personal album yet – and come out fighting
  5. Cafolla, Anna (13 January 2017). "FKA twigs has made a zine and you can see it here". Dazed. Retrieved 10 August 2017. An exclusive peek at the pages produced by the avant-pop visionary [...] It's been two years since the release of the avant-pop visionary's M3LL155X EP
  6. Battan, Carrie. "FKA twigs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  7. Taylor, Elise. "The 5 Must-See Coachella Acts, from Drake to FKA Twigs". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  8. "FKA twigs complete name". Genes Reunited.
  9. "Rising: FKA twigs". Pitchfork. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  10. Sanders, Courtney. "FKA Twigs".
  11. "Cheltenham songstress FKA Twigs shortlisted for prestigious music award". Gloucestershire Echo. 4 December 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  12. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. "FKA twigs: 'Weird things can be sexy'". Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  13. "FKA Twigs: 'I'm appealing to people who want something different'". The Guardian. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  14. Owen Myers. "The Sacred and Profane Genius of FKA twigs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  15. Artist Biography by Heather Phares. "FKA Twigs | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  16. Carrie Battan (22 July 2014). "Interviews: FKA twigs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  17. Barna, Ben (11 September 2013). "FKA Twigs Factsheet: Everything We Know About the Shadowy Singer". Bullett Media. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  18. "Video : FKA Twigs "Water Me"". praythemusic.com. 16 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  19. "Video : Dionne Bromfield - Yeah Right ft. Diggy Simmons".
  20. "Beyonce Wants Groceries". YouTube. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  21. Pasori, CEDAR (June–July 2015). "FKA twigs Interview (2015 Cover Story)". Complex. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  22. FKA twigs (4 August 2020). "FKA twigs on Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved 4 August 2020. i was 19 when i learnt my first pole move, i learnt a back hook spin from a stripper when i was working as a hostess in a gentleman's club. for those of you who don't know, hostessing is when one person pays another person for their time, anything from a conversation over dinner to sex work, and the club gets a cut of the fee.
  23. "Bleach Hair Salon". Bleach London. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  24. "Album Review: FKA Twigs – EP2". Consequence of Sound. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  25. "5 Things To Know About Robert Pattinson's Fiancée, FKA twigs". People. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  26. "Inside the Legal Fight Over FKA Twigs' Stage Name". Billboard. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  27. "What does 'FKA Twigs' really mean?". Seattle Times. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  28. "fka twigs: future shock". Dazed. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  29. "FKA twigs – Water Me". YouTube. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  30. "FKA twigs – "Water Me" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  31. Paul Lester. "New band of the day (FKA twigs 1,569)". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  32. "FKA twigs – EP2 / Young Turks". Theyoungturks.co.uk. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  33. "FKA twigs: EP2 | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  34. "Sound of, 2014 – FKA twigs". BBC. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  35. "Spotify reveals the artists under the Spotify Spotlight for 2014 | Spotify Press". Press.spotify.com. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  36. "14 Artists to Watch in 2014". Billboard. 13 January 2014.
  37. "FKA Twigs: Power Play". The FADER. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  38. Golden, Zara. "Watch FKA Twigs' Transcendental Video for Lucki Eck$ "Ouch Ouch"". Fader. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  39. "FKA twigs Announces Debut Album LP1".
  40. Josephs, Brian. "Review: FKA twigs Makes a Beautiful and Devastating Debut on LP1". time.com. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  41. Copestick, Julia (13 August 2014). "FKA Twigs Announces World Tour". Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  42. Jonze, Tim (11 September 2014). "Mercury prize 2014 ignores big stars in favour of FKA Twigs, Young Fathers and East India Youth". Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  43. FKA twigs – Two Weeks – Later... with Jools Holland – BBC Two, YouTube, 16 September 2014
  44. Payne, Chris (21 October 2014). "Watch FKA Twigs Make Google Glass Look Really, Really Cool in New Commercial". billboard.com. Nielsen.
  45. Boardman, Madeline (5 November 2014). "FKA twigs Plays Tonight Show: Watch Robert Pattinson's Girlfriend Make Her US Television Debut". Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  46. Boots working on Fka Twigs Ep 3, and much more, Genius, 7 November 2014
  47. After His Coup With Beyoncé, Boots Strides Out of the Shadows, NY Times, 14 February 2015
  48. FKA twigs (23 March 2015). "FKA twigs: Glass & Patron (Official Music Video, YTMAs)" – via YouTube.
  49. "FKA Twigs, Roundhouse, review: 'frustrating'". The Daily Telegraph. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  50. FKA twigs Interview 2015 Complex
  51. Zoe Camp (18 February 2016). "FKA twigs New Song "Good to Love" Debuts With Sensual Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  52. twigs, F. K. A. "FKA twigs". f-k-a-twigs.tumblr.com.
  53. "FKA twigs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". Nbc.com. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  54. Stutz, Colin (11 July 2016). "FKA Debuts New Music in Russia: Watch". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  55. "Watch FKA twigs' New Film Soundtrack 7". Pitchfork. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  56. "FKA twigs". Creative Review. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  57. FKA twigs directs and stars in a stunning spot for Nike Women, Alexandra Jardine, Advertising Age, 12 January 2017.
  58. FKA twigs dances her way out of depression in Spike Jonez's film for Apple HomePod, Alexandra Jardine, Advertising Age, 22 March 2018.
  59. Sodomsky, Sam (24 April 2019). "FKA twigs Returns With New Song and Video "Cellophane": Watch". Pitchfork.
  60. Dunn, Frankie (2 September 2019). "how losing everything saved fka twigs". i-D.
  61. Minkser, Evan; Monroe, Jazz (7 October 2019). "FKA twigs Shares Video for New Song "Home With You": Watch". Retrieved 7 October 2019. The new album [...] was originally set for release on October 25
  62. Elder, Sajae (4 August 2020). "645AR enlists FKA twigs for "Sum Bout U"". The Fader. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  63. Richards, MT. "Review: FKA Twigs Lets Her Heart Bleed On the Dope and Dismal LP1". Vibe. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  64. O'Brien, George (13 August 2014). "FKA TWIGS – LP1 // ALBUM REVIEW". London in Stereo. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  65. Vincent, Alice (20 February 2015). "FKA Twigs, Roundhouse, review: 'frustrating'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  66. Simon, Scott. "'I'm Not Scared Of Learning': FKA Twigs On Submission And Control". NPR. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  67. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (9 August 2014). "FKA twigs: 'Weird things can be sexy'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  68. "New FKA Twigs Cut "Figure 8" Melds Industrial & R&B". Electronic Beats. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  69. Petridis, Alexis (7 August 2014). "FKA Twigs: LP1 review – a singular piece of work in an overcrowded market". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  70. Medina, Jamie-James. "Rising: FKA twigs" Pitchfork, 1 August 2013. Accessed 30 April 2015
  71. Lockett, Dee (11 August 2014). "A guide to FKA Twigs, Music's New 'It Girl'". Slate. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  72. Binet, Stéphanie (30 October 2014). "Pitchfork Festival : trois ans, et déjà la postérité pour le dubstep [including an interview with FKA Twigs]". Le Monde. Retrieved 12 November 2014. Je ne me plie à aucun genre musical, assure la métisse anglo-jamaïcaine. J'aime expérimenter avec les sons, provoquer des émotions en posant ma voix sur certaines atmosphères. Je viens de terminer mes derniers morceaux, et cela a beaucoup évolué par rapport à mon premier disque. Mes nouvelles musiques sont plus agressives. Plus jeune, je n'écoutais que du punk, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sid Vicious, et là, j'ai trouvé ma propre manière de jouer du punk. J'aime les sons industriels, incorporer des bruits de la vie de tous les jours comme une alarme de voiture.
  73. Cliff, Aimee. "FKA Twigs Is Right, "Alternative R&B" Must Die". The Fader. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  74. Saxelby, Ruth (25 September 2013). "Interview: Young Turks' FKA twigs". Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  75. "FKA twigs Q&A - 2014 Mercury Prize". YouTube. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  76. "Robert Pattinson and FKA Twigs Have Officially Broken Up". Elle. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  77. "FKA twigs says uterus surgery 'knocked my confidence as a woman'". The Guardian. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.