FKA twigs has dropped her first material in years as days of social media hints and tantalising teasing comes to an end with the release of her latest single, “cellophane”. The song is produced by twigs herself along with Jeff Kleinman and Michael Uzowuru, who have both previously worked with Frank Ocean. It opens with twigs emerging from behind a golden silk curtain onto an empty stage to rapturous applause, before embarking on one of her most delicate songs to date.

With minimal instrumentation – a soft piano is only interrupted by the occasional swell of a synthesiser – twigs’ extraordinary vocal range is given full reign, effortlessly soaring between the highs and lows of an intricate melody. The track offers a glimpse into what fans can expect from the artist’s long-awaited second LP, which is yet to be given a release date.

twigs praised the director of her new video, artist Andrew Thomas Huang, who has previously worked with Björk, on Instagram: “When I wrote ‘cellophane’ over a year ago a visual narrative came to me immediately, I knew I had to learn how to pole-dance to bring it to life, and so that’s what I did. Thank you Andrew Thomas Huang, for elevating my vision beyond words. You are a visionary.”

Commenting on the process of making her new material, the artist added: “Throughout my life I’ve practiced my way to being the best I could be, it didn’t work this time. I had to tear down every process I’d ever relied on. Go deeper. Rebuild. Start again”.

Watch the video in full below.