FKA twigs interviewed by Creative Review

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As part of our 40th celebrations, we’re honouring some of the artists we feel are changing the industry today and inspiring new generations. Here, we interview musician FKA twigs, who discusses her journey from humble beginnings to global recognition.

While it’s not unusual for musicians to have some input into what their album artwork and tour visuals look like, or to work with a creative director to help bring their vision to life, it is rare to find a creative polymath quite like FKA twigs. Since catapulting into the spotlight in 2012, she has been instrumental in defining her own image, treading deftly between writing and producing genre-bending albums and creating intriguing experiences that draw you into the stories behind her music.

Born in 1988, Tahliah Barnett (twigs was originally her nickname, inspired by the cracking sound her joints made when warming up to dance) grew up smack bang in the middle of the MTV era that has inspired and influenced the careers of countless creatives. Being an only child in a small market town in Gloucestershire, however, she felt a million miles away from the rest of the MTV generation.

Instead, it is the artists who twigs’ mum and stepdad listened to during her childhood who helped shape her creative outlook, whether that is the “chic cheekiness” of Prince, the “wildness” of Kate Bush, or Brazilian singer Tania Maria’s scat-infused sounds. 

Later, as a teenager, twigs would become obsessed with the  punk scene of the late 70s and early 80s, citing artists such as Adam Ant and Siouxsie and the Banshees as key influences. At one point she even had a brief spell as a singer in a punk band called ­Delirium Tremens with friends CY AN and LJ Howe, who are still members of her live band today. [...]

Full article (subscribers only) here.

[Guillaume Hamon 5,563]

Will she brings hats à la Napoléon in fashion? :D