FKA twigs is a pseudonym of English singer, songwriter, producer and dancer Tahliah Debrett Barnett. Born January 16, 1988, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, she was formerly known as twigs. Named after the way her bones pop and crack; the part-Jamaican, part-Spanish singer now based in London, released a 4 track EP in December 2012, accompanied by their respective promo videos. Her father is Jamaican, and her mother is an Englishwoman of partly Spanish descent who used to be a da...
FKA twigs is a pseudonym of English singer, songwriter, producer and dancer Tahliah Debrett Barnett. Born January 16, 1988, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, she was formerly known as twigs. Named after the way her bones pop and crack; the part-Jamaican, part-Spanish singer now based in London, released a 4 track EP in December 2012, accompanied by their respective promo videos.
Her father is Jamaican, and her mother is an Englishwoman of partly Spanish descent who used to be a dancer and gymnast. Barnett was raised by her mother and stepfather. She did not meet her father, a jazz dancer, until she was 18. She grew up in Gloucestershire, and has described the county as "kind of in the middle of nowhere." She attended St Edward's School, Cheltenham, a private Catholic school. She came from a low-income family and her education at the school was paid for by an academic scholarship.
FKA Twigs's music has been described as "genre-bending", drawing on a variety of styles, including electronic music, R&B, trip hop, choral music, industrial, and avant-garde. Her work has been compared to the work of Tricky as well as Janet Jackson, The xx and Massive Attack, while Slate described her work as distinctive in a way that rises above her influences. 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." 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."
"How's that", produced and written with Arca, surfaced in May 2013. The single "Water Me", was released in August. Both tracks are extracted from her Young Turks debut release "EP2", out on September 17, 2013 alongside a promo video for "Papi Pacify"
Following some preview gigs in the US and Europe, it was announced Twigs' debut album, LP1, would be released in August 2014. A new film for "Hide" plus a re-work of "Ache","Tw-Ache", were premiered in June as part of Dazed Magazine Takeover. "Two Weeks" had its first airplay the following week. "Pendulum", co-written with Paul Epworth, was released as the lead single B-side in July 2014 and it had its video première in January 2015.
"glass & patron" appeared online as one of the YTMA videos in March 2015. It also features on the August released M3LL155X EP alongside "figure 8" and "in time". The EP was made with collaborators Boots, tic and Cy An. A 16 minute film for M3LL155X supported the release.
In May 2018 Twigs revealed on 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. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
