Six things we know about FKA twigs’ Melissa EP

The name FKA twigs has become synonymous with excitement. When the Dazed cover star isn’t releasing a concoction of perfectly produced, avant-pop beats and falsetto-flecked melodies along with meticulously choreographed, vogue-heavy vids, she’s collaborating with dance krump crew Wet Wipez, getting her Google Glass on, performing at Alexander McQueen’s now legendary retrospective Savage Beauty and preparing to make seven films in a row in front of a live audience. It’s a wonder she has time for interviews, let alone a third EP. However, she’s managed to do both of those things, revealing plans around the upcoming EP Melissa in an in-depth cover story with Complex. We’ve dissected the interview, as well as whatever else is floating about on the internet, so that we can break down exactly what we know about the EP – because two months is too long to wait and find out.

THERE ARE SOME ‘WTF IS THAT SOUND?’ MOMENTS

Multi-talented innovator Jordan Asher AKA Boots is the producer behind the spidery, bass-heavy "Glass & Patron", so we already know that the pair make for an aerodynamic duo. He's also twigs' main collaborator on Melissa, which he let slip in a now-deleted tweet back in November. Both artists have a penchant for the weirder side of sound, so it’s no surprise the upcoming EP will contain a whole array of screwball sonic moments, from the kind of warped, pitched-up vocals featured in "Glass & Patron" to "the click of a hotel key card" and "water dripping from a toilet". Whatever keeps them coming, am I right?

IT CONTAINS A RE-WORKED VERSION OF A SONG SHE WROTE WHEN SHE WAS 18

Teenage years aren’t always peak time, creatively speaking. Sometimes those angsty poems are best left at the bottom of your drawer. FKA twigs, however, has salvaged one of her decade-old teen lyrics and reinterpreted them for the new era of twigs. The track is called "I'm Your Doll" and the original lyrics contained the uber-submissive words: "Wind me up / I’m your doll / Dress me up / I’m your doll / Love me rough / I’m your doll." However, she’s since realised that’s not really her thing, telling Complex: "I'd been brainwashed and preconditioned to write a pop song and write it from that point of view."

IT’S MORE CLASSICAL THAN R&B

Twigs reckons people label her music ‘R&B’ because of the way she looks, saying: "Maybe if I looked differently, then people would be like, 'Oh, I can hear these classical sounds in her voice... It’s not that I don’t want to be called R&B, but there are lots of other things as well. So let’s talk about everything."

MELISSA REFERS TO HER FEMALE ENERGY

Melissa isn’t to FKA twigs what Xen is to Alejandro Ghersi/Arca, what Mykki Blanco is to Michael, or even what Sasha Fierce is to Beyoncé – the name doesn’t refer to "a weird alter ego", but to her "personal female energy" and "things that affect that balance". According to her interview with Complex, it was this openly female energy that made her want to appear as pregnant in the "Glass & Patron" video, and it was the dancers that prompted her to embrace this femininity, which brings us on to the fact that...

THIS BANGER WILL PROBABLY BE ON IT

In case your ballroom slang's a little rusty, "Figure 8" refers to the shape made with your hands and arms when voguing, because the movement draws attention to your face and beauty. "LOOK at my face, LOOK at my face, LOOK at my face," she told Complex. "Look at how powerful I am, look at how beautiful I am, look at how confident I am." It's safe to assume that "Figure 8", which she premiered in Melbourne earlier this year and is likely to feature on the EP, is an homage to this style of dancing.

THE BABY BUMP WILL RETURN

This is essentially two points in one. One: she’s got a new track called "In Time", which is about a torturous relationship, and two: she’s already shot the music video for the track, where she’ll appear pregnant again, according the Complex interview. Oh, but this time it’ll show her waters breaking, and the water will be pastel paint that trickles down her leg. I’ll leave you with that image.