The advert, as well as two posters that featured Kendall Jenner for the same brand, received complaints that the imagery was “offensive and irresponsible, because they objectified women; and” was “inappropriate for display in an untargeted medium.”  Whilst the ASA concluded that the posters featuring Kendall Jenner were found to be within regulatory standards since she is covered to a degree that the ASA considers “no more than mildly sexual”, the ASA deemed the poster featuring FKA Twigs to be “overtly sexual and… not suitable for display in an untargeted medium.”

The key contention held by the ASA is that Barnett’s poster relies upon nudity to draw the viewer’s attention instead of the advertised clothing. In this regard, the ASA ruled that the poster “used nudity and centred on FKA Twig’s physical features rather than the clothing, to the extent that it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object”.

Despite a response from Calvin Klein that argued that the “Images were not vulgar and were of two confident and empowered women who had chosen to identify with the Calvin Klein brand”, the ASA ruled that the advertisement “must not appear again in the form complained of”.

In response to the ASA, FKA Twigs took to Instagram to say: “I do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me.” She added “in light of reviewing other campaigns past and current of this nature, I can’t help but feel there are some double standards here.” What makes this ruling especially contentious, to many online, is the use of male models in equally suggestive marketing, receiving no criticism.

Although the ASA may have a technical case for pulling the FKA Twigs poster, it is hard to ignore that the singer openly endorses the poster and feels that she was able to “express myself exactly how I wanted to”. FKA Twigs cited women of colour like “Josephine Baker, Eartha Kitt and Grace Jones” who pushed boundaries in art and performance as inspiration for her work. Within this context, FKA Twigs’ feature has been deemed by many online to be entirely uncontroversial, with American indie-rock artists Mattiel commenting: “I see discipline in this photo. Many many years of discipline and thoughtful caretaking of the self.” 

“Anna Calls From The Arctic” is a slow plodding daydream that follows a similar vein to their first album’s track “Leafy”, utilising pensive musings of muted synths and Florence Shaw’s haunting brand of oblique ASMR. Here we see Dry cleaning luring you into hypnotic introspection, and it feels pretty nice.

Check out the “Anna Calls From The Arctic” in the video below:

Discussing the new song, Dry Cleaning said; “The lyrics were partly inspired by phone calls with a friend who was living and working in the Arctic. The song developed from a keyboard, bass and clarinet jam. This then took shape during our pre-recording sessions with John Parish and Joe Jones in Bristol and finalised at Rockfield studios a month later, with some musical inspiration coming from the dramatic scores of John Barry. The song is observational and sensual.”

Recently, Dry Cleaning had a chance to reflect on being hand-picked by Grace Jones herself for her curated edition of Meltdown. Bassist Lewis Maynard stated; “We were at a festival when we got told. Our booking agent was like, ‘Right, you want to sit down for this one’ and told us all together. Some of us felt sick because of it.”

“She’s such a hero,” Nick Buxton (drummer) added. “We love all of those Compass Point records, and especially with Trevor Horn. She’s had such an amazing career.”

Shaw went on to say; “I think the control she has over her own image generally is very inspiring, she’s really the queen of wrestling the narrative about herself, and the choices she makes, back from the press or from other people. She’s amazing at that.

The forthcoming album Stumpwork will see the band team up with producer John Parish, who has worked alongside the likes of Eels and PJ Harvey. Guitarist John Dowse said of Stumpwork; “I think there’s more space in it, When you do the first one, every take you do you’re anxious, like, ‘This has to be the one’. When you do the second [album], you realise it doesn’t have to be the one – you just do your thing and then try something. Sometimes it gets on [the album], sometimes it doesn’t. I guess you just put yourself under a bit less pressure, and that made a big difference.”

Alongside Dry Cleaning, psychedelic R’n’B sensation Greentea Peng will take the stage this year, as well as other dazzling additions such as cktrl in a one-off show with the London Contemporary Orchestra, DJ Josey Rebel and Alewya (former Little Simz collaborator).

NEW ACTS ANNOUNCED for @GraceJones‘ Meltdown! #MeltdownFest takes over the Southbank Centre site from 10 – 19 June 2022…

Members On-Sale | Thur 10 Mar
General On-Sale | Fri 11 Mar

Announcement Blog: https://t.co/QqEUv1yL9B
All Events: https://t.co/ArTS0PzLWp (1/4) pic.twitter.com/qGD6NCrV7a

— Meltdown Festival (@meltdownfest) March 7, 2022

The Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director Mark Ball said of the latest fixtures; “Alongside the fantastic artists already announced for Grace Jones’ Meltdown, we’re delighted that Grace has now put the finishing touches to her extraordinary lineup. From post-punk to psychedelia to R&B, Meltdown brings a truly eclectic lineup of talent who are both inspired by Grace Jones and are a testament to her musical curiosity and inventiveness. There really is something for everyone, reaffirming the Southbank Centre as an open and inclusive space where people from all backgrounds can come together and enjoy Grace’s incredible curation.”

These acts will come as the cherry on top for attendees of the exciting summer festival, with confirmed artists such as Grace Jones, Peaches, Skunk Anansie, Sky Ferreira, Hot Congotronics (Hot chip + Kasai Allstars) and Honey Dijon shaping up what looks like one hell of a party.

Speaking about her inspiration behind the lineup, Grace Jones stated; “In the face of adversity, there is no pandemic in the world that will stop me from curating the Meltdown festival. It is my mission to present to you many exciting and gifted artists from various sectors of the music world. Come, see and listen; experience this dazzling plethora of talent at the Southbank Centre.”

Experiencing spellbinding live music isn’t all that’s going on for this year’s festival. Free activities such as an opening event from the radio station No Signal, Island Life Reggae Soundclash, fashion events from A Night of A Thousand Graces and Africa Fashion Week London and roller skating in the aptly named “Roll Up To The Bumper Baby”.  A full list of all the fun to be had is available here.

Tickets for this year’s Meltdown Festival will go on sale on Wednesday the 13^th of April 2022 at 10am BST. A chance to get yours can be found here.

The announcement today revealed that Jamiroquai  will headline the family-friendly festival, which will be a UK exclusive from the funk-pop favourites, who will be taking to the main stage, on the Saturday (13 July) night. Meanwhile, the legendary Grace Jones is set to join them at the top of the bill, taking to the stage, on Sunday (14 July) night. Her performance at this year’s OnBlackheath comes five years after she made her debut at the festival.

Joining headliners Jamiroquai, on the Sunday night, at this year’s OnBlackheath festival will be The Roots, James Morrison, Jacob Collier, SG Lewis, Soul II Soul, Incognito, and Swing Out Sister, with more still to be announced. Meanwhile, the following names have also been revealed to be joining, the already stellar line-up and headliner Grace Jones is Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro, Morcheeba Aswad, The Brand New Heavies – who will all be taking to the stage on Sunday (14 July) night.

Speaking about OnBlackheath on social media, festival organisers, said: “ONBlackheath returns for 2019 on a brand new weekend in the height of Summer on 13 – 14 July 2019! We promise a weekend full of stellar music, fantastic food from Street Feast and a full array of family activities and entertainment for all ages. ONBlackheath is all about spending time with your family and friends so there will be as much for the smaller family members as mums and dads.”

ONBlackheath has been a staple on London’s festival scene since 2014, previously hosting the likes of Madness, Massive Attack and Primal Scream. Also taking up residency at the festival is, Street Feast, who run London’s greatest day and night street food markets, will offer a dazzling array of food and drink at this year’s festival – foodies, rejoice!

Alongside the music, OnBlackheath, offers an array of family entertainment, which will take place, in The Family Playground area, with TV stars Mister Maker and Andy Day and his band Andy and the Odd Socks for the kids, as well as everyone’s favourite teddy bear Sooty holding his very own Birthday Bake-Off, presented by Bonnie Spencer.

Also on-site at the Family Playground will be bestselling author Sam Copeland and Roald Dahl Funny Prize winner Jim Smith, along with masters of hilarity Comedy Club 4 Kids and The Flying Seagull Project. Interactive musical fun will come courtesy of Boppin’ Bunnies and The Pop Bingo Disco, along with some astonishing visual displays from The Science Museum and Samsam Bubbleman’s Giant Bubble Show. Other family activities include the Science Museum’s slime workshops, interactive game zones with The Actual Reality Arcade and Albion Kids Show Soft Play and Pirate Ship, arts and crafts workshops with Daemon or Doppelganger? and OTHERWORLD ARTS as well as going up close with a range of extraordinary animals at Maynard’s Mini Zoo.