Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Listen to a condensed audio version of this review by Greg
This one is a real treat for me. Many of my past reviews have been well known albums, in many cases released several decades ago. I first heard Michael Kiwanuka’s album “Kiwanuka” seven days ago. It was 4:22 AM Tuesday morning and I did a double take when this came on.
I have had difficulty sleeping for several years. I have what is called a very “busy” brain. When I turn the lights out and lay down every night, the circus begins. My brain begins to piece together my entire to-do list for the next day and it analyzes virtually every human interaction and thought I had the day before. In most cases I am shuffling through thoughts of “could have done this” or “should have done that”. This obviously keeps any person awake for hours on end. After seeking help from several doctors and trying different medications, I have found that occupying my brain with either an audio book, a podcast interview or music relieves some of this noise. In many cases I am already frustrated when I pull my headphones/ear buds from my nightstand. For it is many times my signal that I am giving up on sleep that night.
What is hidden behind much of this (besides the need for a chill pill!) is a fantastic opportunity to discover new music! I enjoy putting my satellite radio on and letting the musical programming on each channel take me on a ride. During this late night/early morning, I was floored when I heard this album. This is an album that should have been released in 1977. It sounds just like it was! That is one of the things I love about it. Even the art design on the cover is right out of the 70s.
Almost exactly one year before the date I write this review, on November 1st, 2019, British singer/songwriter Michael Kiwanuka released his third album titled simply, Kiwanuka. Not only was I blown away by the sound on the record, but I can say I do not know of any music today that sounds like this. It is hard to believe this is his third album. Perhaps, I have been living under a rock. Born in London, Michael is the son of parents who migrated from Uganda, escaping the Idi Amin regime in the 1970s. President Amin was known as the “Butcher of Uganda”. Amin outwardly supported Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, a known dictator who is guilty of genocide. He also supported several terrorist groups throughout Africa and the Middle East.
Born in London, Michael developed an early love for music. After studying for a short time at The University of Westminster, he became a session guitarist around 2006-2007 until he eventually decided to start writing, recording and producing his own music.
Getting back to this album, it is soooo unique. Take Stevie Wonder, Funkadelic, Seal, Marvin Gaye, The Band and Bill Withers, put them in a blender, mix it up….out comes Michael Kiwanuka.
The record starts out with an African bongo beat, followed up by a Fender Jazz bass. As the groove begins to form, out comes several instruments, including female backing vocals, keys and drums only to drop down into a quiet rhythm where Michael’s voice kicks in and blows your mind. You Ain’t The Problem starts you off with your introduction to Michael Kiwanuka. Listening to this I feel as if I am wearing bell bottoms driving through New York City on my way to a Carlos Santana, Funkadelic and Donna Summer concert. My sunglasses are big for my face and my shirt has a collar that is polka-dotted and twelve times the size of my neck. Does that paint the picture for you? You Ain’t The Problem gives you all of this from a 33-year-old shy on the playground kind of kid who is clearly coming out of his shell in this song. As the rock n’ roll beat slowly quiets down, Kiwanuka ends the song with this psychedelic organ-keyboard combo sound that mimics the general riff carried throughout the song.
Rolling follows up the album opener. Yet again another sound unlike anything I have heard today. This song has a hard riff that contains the beginnings of a more rock n’ roll beat, with Michael’s smooth Marvin Gaye soothing voice overtop the melody. In almost every song, Kiwanuka adds a segment that takes a left turn. It starts slow, then raises the tempo a bit, only to take you back into the original melody and rhythm you were listening to a minute ago. This is a type of songwriting style I have always been accustomed to. You construct a song, and then plop a part in it that at first, does not sound as if it matches with the rest. The key is then to develop a hook or a transition that brings the song back. The goal here is make people think you have gone into another song, only to segue back into the original, almost like a magic trick. The third track on the album, I’ve Been Dazedhas a similar approach. A bit slower than the previous, ittakes you off the beaten path, through a field of tall grass and introduces you to the gatekeeper in a most anthemic way. I can see myself mixed in a crowd of people at one of his concerts in the future (as soon as we get out of this pandemic!), singing slowly to this anthem as it closes with “Time is a healer! Love is the answer!”
Piano Joint (This Kind of Love) - Introsounds just like its name. I will leave that for you to figure out. If it has been a while since you listened to 1970s Stevie Wonder, well, Kiwanuka took a page right out of Stevie’s book when he wrote this song. The “Intro” part shuffles right into Piano Joint (This Kind of Love),the body of the song. Most of the song is Michael singing over a piano. The track bleeds out soul mixed with a soft rock genre that transitions into a jazzier formula as the Fender Jazz bass kicks in halfway through the track. This album is breaking my head open, song by song. It is kicking the standard pop genre in the teeth and giving the 2019-2020 audience a sound it has not heard in decades.
Another Human Being starts out with a Harp. I am tempted to break out my scotch and bourbon as I listen to this track. I picture looking out the window on a rainy night, almost as if I have just dropped the needle on a Miles Davis record. What makes me laugh is what comes next. The song morphs into a head spinning wall of sound, bringing you to your knees, forcing you to sit close to the ground. This section is reminiscent of On the Run from Dark Side of the Moon, when Pink Floyd was using the EMS Synthesizer “Synthis AKS” creating a sound like you are running on a treadmill through space. Hopefully for those of you who have not heard On the Run, my description paints a picture for you. Kiwanuka sprinkles in some recordings of spoken word. This is very minimal. He structures it in a way like “Dark Side” where a quick sentence will be spaced between two verses before dropping off.
Living In Denial, the album’s seventh track, is closer to an Otis Redding/Marvin Gaye sound. This song provides a significant melody that you could definitely hear being played on popular radio. The song is more simply structured. It gets right to the point, void of any psychedelic ride without abandoning its 70s roots. Kiwanuka tends to gravitate towards a Prophet 5 synthesizer which was first developed in the 1970s and was heard on several albums from that decade. The Prophet 5 provides a softer sound than many of its alternatives and gives you that groovy vibe.
Kiwanuka partnered with musician and producer, Danger Mouse (real name is Brian Burton) on this record. The two worked together to develop that sound Michael was always looking for. Danger Mouse is famously known for releasing an album in 2004 that combined vocals from Jay-Z over top of TheBeatles, White Album. He has also produced records for artists such as Gnarls Barkley, CeeLo Green and Beck, one of my personal favorites in the “can’t figure out what genre they are” genre.
I was watching Sunday Night Football on network television the other night. Worried that my team’s season was slowly going down the drain, I went to the kitchen to grab myself a beverage from the refrigerator. As I rose from the couch, I was startled by a song the network was playing as they went to commercial. Was it? Could it be? It was. It was Kiwanuka’s track Hero which is the next tune on this record. A perfect candidate for radio airplay, Hero – Intro and Hero combined as one is a catchy, once again anthemic song. A bit repetitive, it also gets straight to the point. As a musician, I quickly notice the chords and the rhythm in which Michael plays bear a striking resemblance to Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower, which was famously covered by Jimi Hendrix along with many other artists. If you listen closely, you can hear Kiwanuka channel his inner Hendrix/Dylan as he morphs those chords and rhythm together with his own words, giving birth to a beautiful anthem. This album just keeps getting better!!
Hard to Say Goodbye is the first track that introduced me to Michael Kiwanukaand his brilliant songwriting. I am so pleased to review an album that I have only known for a few weeks, as opposed to several years. For this track, I invite you to use a pair of headphones. Under no circumstances do you listen on your mobile phone speaker from across the room while you are multi-tasking at home (like many of us do). You must experience this track with few distractions on a quality sound system. By far the best track on the album, Michel takes you on a ride. He transforms the chords, beat, rhythm and direction of this song every 20-30 seconds. It is the perfect formula for someone with A.D.D. A true magnum opus. When it first came through my headphones, I was convinced the radio DJ was exposing me to a hidden gem he had been carrying with him since the early 70s. My sleep deprivation continued that late evening/early morning when I discovered it had been released in 2019. There is hope for music after all!!! This track is superb.
Final Days continues down this same path. By this point, you, the listener are getting the point. This guy is a master at channeling the soft, smooth groove in his recipe for what is his third studio album, Kiwanuka. This song softly segues into Interlude (Loving the People) which if you do not listen carefully, you will miss the switch. I get the sense that Michael was channeling his inner Pink Floyd during this song. “Interlude”ever so smoothly transfers into Solid Ground. These three songs are interconnected. Kiwanuka knew what he was doing when he put these together. This a perfect song for those mellow times when you want to escape the day. For many of us, these days are coming at us in larger volume. Solid Ground closes with a sing along chorus of the words incorporated into the track name only to close out in a very Pink Floyd fashion, dark and partially disturbing. I love it!
Light brings the Kiwanuka album to a close. This track continues with the similar theme. I certainly get the feeling of sunlight on my face when listening to this track. Picture a field of pristine, green grass. The grass extends as far as the eye can see until it directly meets the horizon. In that field, is one tree. Just one tree. As the seasons pass, you watch the tree grow leaves. The leaves change color and drop to the ground. This process is repeated over and over. A uniquely magnificent method of nature.
These visions come to mind as I am entertained by listening to Kiwanuka. This album gives hope that earlier genres are coming back in different forms. Thanks to Michael for feeding his creative urges and molding a refreshing genre for today’s music fan to consume.
Grab something you have not heard before and select your own copy of Kiwanuka. This guy is on to something.
You can also select a copy of one of Michael’s earlier albums. Enjoy!!