FKA Twigs has been “absent” on the music scene as far as releasing a new album since 2014, though this doesn’t mean she entirely disappeared. Aside from a single dropped in 2016, the singer opened up last spring on Instagram about a battle she was faced regarding 6 fibroid tumors that had to be removed from her uterus. “I had surgery in December and I was so scared … but…today whilst dancing with Kelly at the choreography house I felt like my strong self again for the first time in a while and it was magical. Thank you precious body for healing, thank you for reminding me to be kind to myself, you are a wonderful thing, now go and create and be other once again <3”
FKA is ethereal to me, and her opening up not only about the surgery but throughout her entire pole dancing/fitness journey gave us an insight to the work that goes on behind the scenes. The morning of the release she detailed that she imagined the exact visual and then began the journey to learn how to pole-dance in order to execute. We stan a visionary with discipline.
The single itself is melancholy. I mean that in the best way possible, I am a “heartbreak kid”. I didn’t know what to expect but the opening lines with her sweet, somber voice “Didn’t I do it for you? Why don’t I do it for you?” caught me off guard. The sadness in the song enveloped me yet provided a sense of comfort. Of course the Twilight Saga stan I am I couldn’t help but try to piece it to the failed engagement to Robert Pattinson. Following the YouTube comments online other fans thought so as well.
The message of Cellophane details a relationship that is being ruined by outside interference and that she is fighting a losing (even one-sided) battle. The video was conceptualized by Andrew Thomas Huang and Ms. Twigs. Huang also was the mastermind behind the directing and editing, I’m sure this was to ensure the execution was on target with the vision Twigs had when she first wrote the song last year. The main focal point is Fka on the pole, not surprisingly she took an art form normally deemed as distasteful and demonstrated grace and sensuality. Watching her movements is to feel the ache and longing that her words convey.
No amount of praise can get across the elegance, passion and pure talent exuding from not only the song itself but from the team that made it come to life. The song is categorized as ‘Electronic’ more than likely due to the fact media loves to box anyone in as R&B due a biracial or AA ethnicity. Regardless of genre, I am happy FKA Twigs has returned and made it clear, once again, that she can be in any lane she wants and that she is the original and only.