FKA twigs: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

This year, NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts — both from home and from behind our beloved Desk. Together, these artists represent the past, present and future of Black music. This month of carefully curated shows is a celebration of Black artists expressing themselves in ways we've never seen before, and of the Tiny Desk's unique way of showcasing that talent.

LaTesha Harris | June 10, 2022
To see her is to appreciate a rare portrait. To watch her dance and hear her sing is to fall, entranced, into an uncanny haze. Both snake and its charmer, British Jamaican multidisciplinary artist FKA twigs is a new-age priestess. Surrounded by flames of offering in the hallowed halls of London's St. Matthias Church, the Grammy-nominated artist and her three-piece supporting band deliver a sermon on the perils of devotion. In her three-song Tiny Desk (home) concert -- featuring soul-baring ballads like “home with you” and “cellophane” -- she honors the strength of vulnerability; her operatic soprano ignites and delivers catharsis.

After working as a backup dancer with hopes of transitioning to singing, FKA twigs released two EPs before achieving widespread critical acclaim with her debut studio album, 2014’s LP1, and its lead single, “Two Weeks.” A classically trained singer, FKA twigs makes music that blends deceptively demure vocals with otherworldly trip-hop beats. She perfected this signature avant-garde sound on her sophomore album, 2019’s MAGDALENE, establishing herself as a direct musical descendent of iconic innovators like Kate Bush and Janet Jackson. Fresh off the success of her recent mixtape, CAPRISONGS, FKA Twigs blesses viewers with a performance of her latest song, “killer.”

SET LIST
“home with you”
“killer”
“cellophane”

MUSICIANS
FKA twigs: vocals
Kelly Nicole Moran: piano
Damsel Elysium: double bass, violin
Lucinda Chua: cello

CREDITS
Director: Aidan Zamiri
Producer: Aidan Robert Brooks
Executive Producer: Morgan Clement
PA: Fluer
Director of Photography: Jake Hunter
AC: George Power
AC: Mac Christie
Gaffer: Alex Cullen
Spark: Ben Alder
Art Director: Alan Scott
Art Assistant: Tasneem Elnayal
Music Director: Bubbleman
Sound Engineer: Johnny Williams
Creative Producer: Pia Ashcroft

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Video Producer: Joshua Bryant
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Animation: Kaz Fantone
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Kara Frame, Michael Zamora, Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #tinydeskconcert #fkatwigs

[fkatwigs]

thanks for watching, killer is out now 🥀

[clevername]

Allowing commercials to interrupt this flawless performance should be a crime against humanity.

[Karnevale]

If you told me that FKA twigs actually lives in this church and that this is a genuine home concert, I'd just say okay

[dakotac]

She turned the tiny desk into a Shakespearean play. Just fantastic! Ethereal black beauty.

[lgtg]

3 years already and the "i never told you I was lonely too" kills me every time still

[gabrielnicolau]

cellophane is so powerful. don’t matter how many times she is going to sing it, I’m gonna cry in all those times

[Ek]

Shes not just a great vocalist. Its the way her songs are produced... her use of crescendo, slurs, and a lot of different vocal techniques. Her music always feel fresh and new. What a talent.

[denisedargan]

I'm a 72 year old man always popping into NPR Tiny Desk but dear god never expected this. What a voice, beautiful and her back up superb hope to hear more. -

[natalieportmanreal]

As a victim of domestic violence, I am so grateful for fka twigs. Looking back on my abuse experiences I feel like she has been with me as a friend, a safe harbor, and an inspiration. I was lucky enough to get out of that situation. I stand with you Tahliah. Thank you for saving me countless times.

[Amanda-kfpm]

She mixes the honesty and raw feeling of Bjork with the the wild expression and creativity of Kate Bush. I love FKA Twigs so much <3

[Gabriel-udhu]

she turned into a tremendous vocalist. you can hear that she studied voice and it's very disciplined as she is in everything she does.

[estelleg-f]

✨Songs✨:
0:13 - home with you
7:00 - killer
10:23 - cellophane

[MusaNkone]

She's got a point, she's an icon, she's a legend and she is the moment.

[ANGRYMAYOR]

I've just discovered this artist tonight while searching for that long dog meme. I was in tears by the end. Wow.

[chicellycrio]

give this woman all her flowers. that was a spiritual viewing.

[evandersolis]

AS SOON AS SHE SANG “DIDNT I DO IT FOR YOU” I STARTED CRYING AND SHAKING

[Rio_Yeti_]

“Home with You” gets me very emotional every time I hear it. The arrangement, lyrics, and her voice make her pain and longing palpable. This rendition is even more heart wrenching and beautiful to me. I found myself in tears by the end.

[doxi]

This will go down as one of the best tiny desk performances in history

[ianlawrence]

The vocals are superb, the band sounds heavenly, the staging is otherworldly, but her STAGE PRESENCE? The way she just *looks* into the camera from time to time, knowing she's looking into your very soul. Her posture, the subtle movements, the way she lets the song move her but is still in such *command* of the performance. All just SITTING there. This is a MASTERCLASS in performance.

[quentinmerritt]

She means every word, especially in Cellophane. 

She has opened up her heart to us, she's letting us in, but she's also speaking directly to who this song is about. 

She is so powerful, because she's strong enough to be open and honest and vulnerable with the world, using music to accentuate her experience and augment it to one that we can all relate to. 

Maybe it's hitting me now because I finally feel like I've accessed my own unshakable sense of truth and take power from vulnerability, but FKA Twigs is the artist of our generation. Sending nothing but infinite love to you, Twigs <3