About

As a creative package, M3LL155X is unimpeachable; a high-concept piece of work that's evocative, accessible and transgressive. It builds on FKA twigs' previous work, exploring ideas of psychic and interpersonal dominance and submission, but drills down almost completely into self. On the cover of her third EP M3LL155X, twigs echoes this gesture, staring at us as her own hand merges into her face. Once again, her gaze is discomfiting and impossible not to return. A glassy-voiced singer refracting melody through diffuse electronic beats, twigs takes the familiar R&B star as her avatar, but her presentation is more complex: her ideas mar beauty and mine power, and exalt sex without exotifying.

What twigs is interested in, above all, is mastery. Her idea of mastery involves ownership of her craft, but is mindfully tempered with the knowledge that she is one of many voices. twigs appears to understand that mainstream culture pins her as artist zero for voguing (and baby hairs) and she counters cultural myopia by continually naming her teachers and collaborators: Wet Wipez, Benjamin Milan, Derek Prodigy. She maintains co-producer credits on her tracks (although, as MIA, Bjork and Missy Elliott have noted of their work, credit often goes to the men who produce with her, like Tic and Arca). For some, it matters profoundly that twigs centers black men in her videos. All of which is to say that the EP takes the ur-feminist mantra of "the personal is political" as a starting point. Indeed, after the tiresome reams of "is she or isn't she?" thinkpieces dissecting Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift and other figures that commodify feminist rhetoric, twigs makes the strongest case for the feminist pop star proper, standing up (for now) to the checklist scrutiny of "ur fav is problematic" culture. Role models aren't universal, but if we need a feminist pop star, then twigs is it. — via Pitchfork

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Label: Young Turks
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, EP, Stereo
Released: 2015
Genre: Electronic
Style: Trip Hop

File under: Leftfield
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