The wait is finally over for fans of FKA twigs. Her long-awaited sophomore album, Magdalene, is here.
The project, which serves as the proper follow-up to 2014's LP1, was announced during the summer along with the release of the Future-assisted single "Holy Terrain." FKA revealed she had worked on the project for about three years and said it was recorded during a time of physical and emotional recovery.
"The record is about every lover that I’ve ever had, and every lover that I’m going to have," she told i-D magazine. "Just when you think it’s really fragile and about to fall apart, there’s an absolute defiance and strength in a way that my work’s never had before. It’s really fragile."
The British singer-songwriter also touched on the ways Mary Magdalene's story had inspired the album.
"I used to laugh to myself about how, as a woman, your story is often attached to the narrative of a man. No matter what you’re doing or how great your work is, sometimes it’s as though you have to be attached to a man to be validated. I’d felt like that at times," she explained. "And then I started to read about Mary Magdalene and how amazing she was; how she was likely to have been Jesus’s best friend, his confidante. She was a herbalist and a healer, but, you know, her story is written out of the bible and she was ‘a prostitute.’ I found a lot of power in the story of Mary Magdalene; a lot of dignity, a lot of grace, a lot of inspiration."
Magdalene spans nine tracks, including the previously released singles "Cellphone," "Home With You," and "Sad Day." Future is the only guest artist on the album, which boasts production Benny Blanco, Jack Antonoff, Skrillex, Soundwave, Kenny Beats, and more.
You can stream the project now on Apple Music and Spotify.
The artist also spoke to Zane Lowe about the album on Apple Music’s Beats 1. While there, FKA also touched on the end of her relationship and growing up in England. "I think I'm a big risk taker," she said. "I think in my early life, I was kind of forced into that position. I was brought up in the country in England and my mom was a single parent for a significant part of my life and I was like the only person of color in the town really where I lived. So that already puts you in a position where you are, at risk, and then to want to do things to want to be able to like excel out of that environment where the odds seem quite against you. I knew that if I wanted to go and get a good solid education, my mom said to me that if you want to go to a good school, you have to get a scholarship. That's the only way. So I remember just studying so hard."
FKA, who previously dated Robert Pattinson, said she feels "like I've never known myself better."
"Unmeshing, like when you're with somebody, your lives become very entwined with like your friends and family and your routine," FKA said. "And then the unmeshing is you're then by yourself and then it's finding your own morning routine, or your nighttime routine. Even something as simple as like, wow, now I can decorate the living room how I want it. Do what I mean? These things was before you were like considering."
FKA will perform this weekend at Camp Flog Gnaw, and will continue her world tour next week. Check out the remaining tour dates below.
FKA twigs tour dates
November 9 Camp Flog Gnaw - Los Angeles, CA, USA
November 12 The Mission Ballroom - Denver, Colorado, USA
November 14 Palace Theatre - Saint Paul, MN, USA
November 15 Rivera Theatre - Chicago, IL, USA (SOLD OUT)
November 17 Rebel Complex - Toronto, ON, Canada
November 19 House of Blues - Boston, MA, USA
November 20 Kings Theatre - Brooklyn, NY, USA (SOLD OUT)
November 21 Kings Theatre - Brooklyn, NY, USA
November 25 O2 Academy Brixton - London, UK (SOLD OUT)
November 27 Carlswerk Victoria - Cologne, DE
November 28 X-Tra - Zurich, CH
November 29 Fabrique - Milan, IT
December 1 Salle Playel - Paris, FR
December 2 Cirque Royale - Brussels, BE
December 3 Royal Theatre Carré - Amsterdam, NL
