U.K. artist FKA Twigs consistently occupies the outermost edge of pop culture, pushing the boundaries of dance and electronic music in the process.
After the release of her 2019 studio album MAGDALENE, followed by the mixtape CAPRISONGS in 2022, the highly anticipated addition to her discography, âEusexua,â perfectly captures the essence of the human condition.Â
Released on Sept. 13, the song begins with a pulsating rave-inspired beat, accompanied by the shimmering sound of techno accents layered on top. Twigsâ ethereal vocals envelop this rhythm even more.
Produced alongside DJs/instrumentalists Eartheater and Koreless, the song builds from a haunting opening that slowly crescendos to its climax, with tones becoming more pronounced as the song progresses.
Twigs describes the single as a state of transcendence, a pinnacle of human experience that can be reached through moments of connection and creativity. In an interview with Vogue Magazine, she elaborates on her self-coined term, describing âEusexuaâ as a feeling of intense euphoria achieved in moments of pure clarity and pleasure.
She says, âYou know that feeling of when youâve been out all night, and you lose seven hours to music, and you look at your phone, and you think, âOh, my gosh, itâs 8:00 in the morning.â And last time you looked, it was 1:00. Itâs because youâve been in a state of Eusexua.âÂ
As displayed in her lyrics and music videos, FKA twigs promotes the empowerment of sexuality, introducing the term âEusexuaâ to also represent a state of intimacy and sexual gratification.Â
âItâs also if you meet somebody that you really like, and you just kiss all night, and you kiss for all hours,â Twigs continues. âYou lose time. Itâs like your bodies become one and youâre just like an amoeba. And itâs like this kind of meditative, amazing physical experience.âÂ
The song, coupled with its future album, marks a turning point for the singer. Previously constrained by notions of love, she now enters this creative chapter with a newfound liberty.
In 2021, Twigs opened up to Elle Magazine about her abusive relationship with American actor Shia LaBeouf stating, âItâs a miracle I came out alive.â She endured emotional, verbal, and physical violence at the hands of LaBeouf, recalling many instances during their year-long relationship when she feared for her life.
After filing a lawsuit against the actor, Twigs became an advocate for survivors of domestic violence, fronting the Join the Chorus initiative and, more recently, Sistah Space, a U.K. charity supporting African and Caribbean women affected by domestic and sexual abuse.Â
Twigsâs healing journey is marked by her use of music, dance, and other creative outlets that can transform her personal pain into messages of resilience. During the release week of her song, she simultaneously opened a two-week âself-healingâ exhibition called The Eleven at Sothebyâs London. She describes her latest work as a significant part of a huge journey over the past few years. Twigs told SkyNews that she relearned âhow to use and live in [her] body again.â
In this interpretive dance performance, a rotating group of 11 âmoversâ engage in a series of ritualized motions (shaking, spinning, rubbing), each lasting 11 minutes. Arranged by Twigs, these movements extend from somatic healing techniques that are designed to harmonize body and emotion and used to aid with trauma recovery.
âItâs about realizing that weâre in our vessels, we can take control of them in a beautiful way⊠Itâs really about refined expression; itâs raw, itâs wild and itâs ugly, and in that way, itâs perfect,â Twigs said to SkyNews.Â
Coinciding with the release of her new song, the guiding force behind both the performance and the single is the sensation of âEusexuaâ itself. Twigs recalls the creation of the track, taking to Instagram to share her thoughts.Â
Her caption writes, âEUSEXUA has been my practice for the years that it has been in creation. It is my opus and truly feels like a pin at the centre of the core of my artist. EUSEXUA was birthed in chicken scratch, written on the back of my hand in a toilet at a rave in Prague, âthis room of fools WE MAKE SOMETHING TOGETHERâ and we do. We rave, we sweat, we kiss, we make love to the booming thud of culture.âÂ
FKA Twigsâ music videos stand as a testament to her ability to draw emotional intensity and sensuality to the visual form, and the Eusexua music video is nothing short of that.
Blending avant-garde aesthetics and performance art, FKA Twigs emerges as a pioneering figure in the contemporary music scene. Her visionary style is reflected by her ability to craft emotional stories through choreography and genre-defying soundscapes. From the inception of her first album, LP1, Twigsâ musicality has undergone a shift as she continues to evolve her creative prowess and image as an artist.
The eleven-track album is set to release on Jan. 24, 2025.Â
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1(800) 799-SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org