With her 2025 albums Eusexua and Eusexua Afterglow, FKA twigs has redefined her vision of pop: a participatory experience that erases the boundaries between stage and audience. In the middle of her physically demanding “Body High Tour,” which will also take the 38-year-old to the Berlin Velodrome on June 12, Tahliah Debrett Barnett, as her real name is, takes time to talk about the art of being in the moment, her relationship to her own body and the question of why no one has to be able to identify with her.
ROLLING STONE: How easy is it for you to really live in the here and now?
FKA twigs: Oh, that’s easy. I like to be productive, which means I have to focus a lot on the moment. And especially when training and dancing, you need a certain amount of presence anyway.
Very professional.
I am Capricorn. I can not help it. (laughs)
Your current concerts blur the line between performance, rave and ritual. What kind of transformation do you want the crowd to take away from a show?
I’m currently trying to break down the barrier between performer and audience. Especially with the “Eusexua” era, I firmly believe that a concert has to be a conversation between me and the crowd. I want them to understand the concept, enjoy it and fall into it. The shows for the 2019 album “Magdalene” were more something to watch, but at the “Eusexua” gigs everyone is a part of the whole. I want everyone to dance, use their bodies and feel awe – not just for the stage, but also for themselves and each other, for what one person can make possible. It’s about us reaching “Eusexua” together. At the previous concerts the vision has really come to fruition, it has come completely to life. The community even exceeded my expectations. The message has really arrived and seems to have an impact everywhere. What makes me so happy about it: It shows what extensive meaning music has. It is communication and life.
What is more important to you: being seen or understood?
Actually, I don’t need to be seen at all. Especially these days, I don’t care anymore. And I think that’s simultaneously the best and most problematic thing about me as an artist. I just don’t feel the need for all the attention to be on me anymore. That’s why I love sharing my stage with so many great artists. I am very confident in my talent and craft. But at the same time, I never feel the need to be in the spotlight. One of my dancers once said to me that a certain freedom comes from being misunderstood. And I believe that too. You don’t have to be able to identify with me. The moments I’ve felt most uncomfortable in my career have been when I or my team have tried to make me a person you can relate to. I just realized: This isn’t for me. The people who come to my shows or want to work with me are people who would rather just create and exist instead of constantly worrying about how they will be perceived. People will always have their own opinions anyway. That is their right. But ultimately it’s none of my business.
When you talk about misunderstanding, I have to think of the offending and disturbing that is so often required of art. Is that a claim that is close to you?
Art has to mean something. It can evoke a feeling of calm, emptiness, trauma, pain or memory. In any case, it’s about capturing an emotion, a moment or an idea in the form of song, movement or dance. Of course, some art can come from a more nihilistic or apathetic attitude, but that is not the position from which I personally draw inspiration. I want my art to trigger something.
Do you sometimes outdo yourself?
Yes, constantly. The tour I’m currently on is extremely physical. Before the US concert dates, I asked myself whether I would be able to manage all the dates with this level of intensity. But it worked. And I could have done even more. The human body can do incredible things if you really put your mind to it. If you really want something, you can achieve things that seem to exceed your intelligence, resilience or physicality. That is the power of the mind.
How do you deal with the repetition of everyday tour life? How do you manage to still be so turned on?
I don’t see it as a depressing repetition at all. That’s exactly why I wanted to do the “Body High Tour” – it challenges me enormously. Every time a concert ends I feel more fulfilled. I use repetition to discover new meanings and to push myself further in individual moments. Precisely because I now know the material so well, I can become more spontaneous and play more with the respective situation. I want to constantly improve and go further than the point I thought possible.
How are you going further than you thought you would?
I’ll take the end of the track “Striptease” as an example. I sing these very big, intense tones. In the studio I was able to record the part in many takes and put it all together at the end. Something like this doesn’t work live, there’s only one attempt. Just learning to sing something on stage in one go that was originally recorded in parts means pushing yourself hard and completely surpassing yourself. Now I’m not just doing it, I’m even adding more notes. If I were to record the song again today, I would be able to sing higher notes that I couldn’t do back then during the recording process. At the beginning of the tour I was more exhausted at some points and had to see how I could save energy. Now I’m fitter and have more endurance, so I can be braver. Also in pole dancing. This has become more complex. It’s a lot about transitions. I used to need four hand movements for one position, but now I can sometimes do it in two – live in front of thousands of people. That’s why I’m not tired of the repetitions. Because I can delve much deeper into everything. Also emotionally. Performing a song is one thing, actually feeling it is another. Even though the tour is hard, I feel like I’m growing from it. And when I grow, I’m happy.
Self-optimization can have a negative connotation, especially when I look around on social media. But you seem consistently in favor of self-optimization.
Honestly, I’ve never heard that wanting to improve could be a negative thing. The trend has probably not yet entered my algorithm. (laughs)
Can you share more about how your view of your body has changed through all your years of performing and singing?
Being a dancer and athlete is interesting, as is being in the public eye. No matter how hard you try to protect yourself, there are always idealized ideas about what a body should look like, and we know it. I’m lucky that overall I’ve always had a pretty good relationship with myself and my body. But I’ve also increasingly focused on what my body can practically do rather than what it looks like. Training and touring only reinforces this. For me it’s about mobility, flexibility, strength and endurance. I’ve been dancing professionally since I was twelve. That’s why my body positivity is based more on functionality. I judge myself by previous versions of myself rather than any beauty ideals. The older I get, the less interested I am in these so-called ideals. I never train primarily for appearance or perception.
You recently met David Byrne and you talked about art and performance. How does a conversation like this influence your work?
For me, inspiration comes primarily from within myself – although of course I constantly absorb things from other artists and from the world. But the conversation with him has no direct effect on my work, even though I think that David Byrne has had such a strong influence on the cultural DNA that it subconsciously flows into my work. Ultimately, we all influence each other somewhere.
Do you currently see yourself better reflected through your live performance or through an album of yours?
Great artists are always the sum of all their forms of expression. When you think of Prince, Diana Ross or even Madonna, you can’t separate album and performance. Everything belongs together. For me, that is exactly what makes an exceptional artist. And that’s what I strive for: I want to be a really strong artist, across the board.
FKA twigs live in Germany 2026
- Friday, June 12th – Berlin, Velodrome
