UnCultured

FKA twigs - “M3LL155X” Pitchfork’s Best New Music

In "Papi Pacify", the video that introduced FKA twigs to the wider world, the British pop star stares into the camera as a man (a lover, it should be said) pries his fingers into her gaping mouth. The hook is a moan: "Mmm, papi pacify." The lyrics are about the tension of desire, but the mise en scene is power. On the cover of her third EP M3LL155X, twigs echoes this gesture, staring at us as her own hand merges into her face. Once again, her gaze is discomfiting and impossible not to return. A glassy-voiced singer refracting melody through diffuse electronic beats, twigs takes the familiar R&B star as her avatar, but her presentation is more complex: her ideas mar beauty and mine power, and exalt sex without exotifying.

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Meet FKA twigs’ New Collaborator

Matthew Stone is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He also happens to be an amazing and talented artist. I recently spent a few days with him in the Shoreditch district of London, where he is based. He showed me his new studio as well as his latest work. He was also in the middle of finishing a new project with FKA twigs. Stone’s art uses advanced Photoshop layering and ultimately becomes figurative depictions of abstract images that are then printed on linen canvases. They are simply beautiful. He only had a few left in his studio, as most the pieces had already been sold to private collectors.

FKA twigs - Glass & Patron

FKA twigs has shared the video for “Glass & Patron,” which she directed herself for the YouTube Music Awards. Watch if you like FKA twigs songs, Beyoncé songs (Bey’s secret weapon Boots co-wrote and produced “Glass & Patron”), or epic vogue battles, because this video bills itself as “the most epic vogue battle of all time,” according to its press release.

FKA twigs to Create Seven Short Films for Manchester International Festival

FKA twigs has been added to the lineup for the upcoming Manchester International Festival. The London-based musician will create seven unique short films over the duration of her seven-day residency, spanning from July 9 until 15 at Manchester’s Old Granada Studios. Small audiences are invited to observe the production of each picture, giving a rare perspective into the creation process as it unfolds. Hot off the heels of her highly acclaimed debut album LP1, FKA twigs joins Björk among a slew of other artists to partake in the 18-day arts festival. For more information head to the MiF’s website.

PMA's Top 100 Songs of 2014

This is always the hardest list to compile. While certain albums may tower above the rest (though that actually wasn’t the case this year), the act of choosing our favorite songs, from the hundreds and hundreds of new songs we heard in 2014, seems a bit more personal and a whole lot more arbitrary. Still, we’ve done our best to put together a list of the one hundred tunes that defined the year here at PMA.

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FKA Twigs - Video Girl

FKA Twigs by Ellen von Unwerth for The Wild Magazine November 2014

FKA Twigs - Throughglass

FKA Twigs