Kiwanuka: one of the greatest albums of the decade

Kiwanuka(kiwä’nukə): one of the greatest albums(ˈalbəm) of the decade

The soulful singer’s third LP is timeless and contemporary(kənˈtempəˌrerē) at the same time, with shades(SHād) of everything from What’s Going On to Screamadelica(skrēm)

By Dave(ā) Simpson(ˈsimpsən)

Michael(ˈmīk(ə)l) Kiwanuka’s first two albums established(əˈstabliSHt) him as a folksy(ˈfōksē) symphonic(simˈfänik) soul man akin(əˈkin) to Bill Withers(ˈwiT͟Hərz) and Terry(ˈterē) Callier, and set the bar pretty high. This one knocks(näk) it skyward(ˈskīwərd). Together with producer-to-the-stars Danger Mouse and London hip-hop producer Inflo, the British-Ugandan(yo͞oˈɡandən) 32-year-old has broadened(ˈbrôdn) his territory(ˈterəˌtôrē) to stretch from Donny Hathaway(ˈhaTHəwā)-style melancholy(ˈmelənˌkälē) soul through to Rolling Stones-y gospel(ˈgäspəl) rock, psychedelic(ˌsīkəˈdelik) soul and breakbeat(ˈbrākˌbēt). There are strings and harps(härp), samples of civil(ˈsivəl) rights campaigners(kamˈpānər), Hendrix(ˈhendriks)-type frazzled(ˈfrazəl) guitars(ɡəˈtär) and Burt Bacharach(ˈbakərak, ˈbäkəˌräk)-type orchestrations(ˌôrkəˈstrāSHən). The dreamlike, revelatory(riˈvel-,ˈrevələˌtôrē) quality is reminiscent(ˌreməˈnisənt) of Marvin Gaye’s(ɡā) What’s Going On and Primal(ˈprīməl) Scream’s(skrēm) Screamadelica.

Unusually, in these streaming-led times, Kiwanuka is a contemplative(kənˈtemplədiv) song cycle intended to be listened to in one extended sitting, which he says is “a reaction against this fast-paced, throwaway, machine-led world”. It sounds timeless and contemporary; the instrumental(ˌinstrəˈmentl) interludes(ˈintərˌlo͞od) and the stylistic(stīˈlistik) and tempo(ˈtempō) shifts all hang together because of his warm, sincere(sinˈsi(ə)r) vocals(ˈvōkəl) and fantastic songwriting. At the core is Kiwanuka’s inner battle between anxiety, self-doubt, spirituality(ˌspiriCHo͞oˈalədē) and wisdom(ˈwizdəm), which is then set against racism(ˈrāˌsizəm) and rueful(ˈro͞ofəl) glances(glans) at the state of the world. Thus, killer opener You Ain’t(ānt) the Problem is both an encouraging(enˈkərijiNG) nudge(nəj) to himself and a sharp put-down of attitudes(ˈadəˌt(y)o͞od) towards immigration(ˌiməˈɡrāSH(ə)n): “If you don’t belong, you’re not the problem.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/01/michael-kiwanuka-kiwanuka-review-one-of-the-greatest-albums-of-the-decade