From school to stardom, the singer-performer has always felt like an outsider. She discusses social media censorship, sexuality, crying on stage – and her magical childhood

‘I had an epiphany recently,” FKA twigs says. You have to love a conversation that starts like that. “Where I sit in the industry now is where I sat when I was at school. I was a little bit of an outsider then. And I thought, if I did this job, I’d be on the inside. But after 15 years of doing it, I just found myself still on the outside.”

FKA twigs’ appearance is mysterious: the 37-year-old has wise eyes, seemingly as old as a mountain, but the skin of a 14-year-old; her head is shaved at the side, like an ecowarrior, yet she is ridiculously beautiful, like a Disney princess. Her singing voice is otherworldly and she has incredible range. People have always compared her to Björk, but the first song on her new album, Eusexua, gives a bit of texture to that comparison. Yes, they are alike, in the sense that they are both from outer space. But space is quite large.