FKA twigs is pioneering one of the most innovative and genuinely original sounds in contemporary music; her performance at The Roundhouse next February is a chance to hear this sound for yourself.
In 2013, FKA twigs (real name, Tahliah Barnett) released the prosaically-titled EP2, a collection of four songs which sounded like they’d been sent from the future. Each track was accompanied by a video whose beguiling visuals matched the music’s unique aesthetic: polished and glossy, yet stuttering and fragile.
Since then, Barnett has been perfecting this aesthetic. The songs on her debut album, LP1 (spot the pattern), are masterful and almost impossible to pin down. She has a little of James Blake's architectural sensibility; wavering synthesisers and shuddering percussion give way to sudden silences, only to return, subtly altered, moments later. But her music is more robust than Blake’s. The production on the album, both her own work and that of collaborators like hip-hop innovator Clams Casino, never loses sight of the lower frequencies.
Her voice too is difficult to categorise; it is soulful and orchestral, but belongs to neither tradition. Her lyrics meanwhile run the gamut between the seductive and the surreal, by turns forthright and covert.
FKA twigs returns from her US tour to play one-off gig at the Roundhouse on the 19th of February - her biggest UK concert to date. Buy tickets for FKA twigs' upcoming concert soon, as they are likely to sell out quickly.
In 2013, FKA twigs (real name, Tahliah Barnett) released the prosaically-titled EP2, a collection of four songs which sounded like they’d been sent from the future. Each track was accompanied by a video whose beguiling visuals matched the music’s unique aesthetic: polished and glossy, yet stuttering and fragile.
Since then, Barnett has been perfecting this aesthetic. The songs on her debut album, LP1 (spot the pattern), are masterful and almost impossible to pin down. She has a little of James Blake's architectural sensibility; wavering synthesisers and shuddering percussion give way to sudden silences, only to return, subtly altered, moments later. But her music is more robust than Blake’s. The production on the album, both her own work and that of collaborators like hip-hop innovator Clams Casino, never loses sight of the lower frequencies.
Her voice too is difficult to categorise; it is soulful and orchestral, but belongs to neither tradition. Her lyrics meanwhile run the gamut between the seductive and the surreal, by turns forthright and covert.
FKA twigs returns from her US tour to play one-off gig at the Roundhouse on the 19th of February - her biggest UK concert to date. Buy tickets for FKA twigs' upcoming concert soon, as they are likely to sell out quickly.
| What | FKA twigs, The Roundhouse |
| Where | Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8EH | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Chalk Farm (underground) |
| When |
On 19 Feb 15, Doors 7pm |
| Price | £20 |
| Website | Click here to book via the Roundhouse website |
