Michael Kiwanuka has announced his third studio album. KIWANUKA is set for release on 25 October via Polydor, and you get get your ears around the first track to be lifted from the record now.
The singer shows that he’s not pulling any punches with the new track, ‘You Ain’t The Problem’. It’s a philosophical stance on time and healing after suffering; imbued with the typical Kiwanuka wisdom, and injected with an updated psych-fuzz outfit that never sounded better. Miles away from 2012’s Home Again and with its meandering acoustic folk mood, Kiwanuka incorporates everyone from Gil Scott-Heron, Bobby Womack and Otis Redding to present a full-bodied, swirling timeline of soul music.
The album comes after years of deliberation from Kiwanuka, feeling the pressure from Love & Hate. "The last album came from an introspective place and felt like therapy, I guess. This one is more about feeling comfortable in who I am and asking what I want to say. Like, how could I be bold and challenge myself and the listener? It is about self-acceptance in a more triumphant rather than melancholy way. It’s an album that explores what it means to be a human being today.”
KIWANUKA Tracklisting:
- You Ain’t The Problem
- Rolling
- I’ve Been Dazed
- Piano Joint (This Kind Of Love)
- Intro
- Piano Joint (This Kind Of Love) Main
- Another Human Being
- Hero
- Hard To Say Goodbye
- Final Days
- Interlude (Loving The People)
- Solid Ground
- Light
It’s always hard following up an album that seemingly achieved everything you’ve wanted to achieve. Kiwanuka’s Number One album, Love & Hate, was released in 2016, and it won the hearts of everyone from the critics to the public - a hard balancing act to achieve. But we have faith that KIWANUKA is going to make it a hat trick for the singer.
Michael Kiwanuka is hitting the road too, catch him live at the following:
AUGUST
30 - Larmer Tree Gardens, End of the Road Festival
SEPTEMBER
01 - Ireland, Electric Picnic
NOVEMBER
23 - Paris, La Salle Pleyel
24 - Brussels, Ancienne Belgique
26 - Amsterdam, AFAS Live
27 - Cologne, Essigfabrik
29 - Copenhagen, K.B Hallen
30 - Stockholm, Gota Lejon
DECEMBER
01 - Oslo, Rockefeller Music Hall
03 - Berlin, Huxleys Neue Welt
04 - Frankfurt, Batschkapp
06 - Vienna, Stadthalle Halle F
07 - Milan, Fabrique Milano
MARCH
02 - Southampton, O2 Guildhall
03 - Bournemouth, O2 Academy
05 - London, O2 Academy Brixton
06 - Birmingham, O2 Academy
07 - Manchester, O2 Apollo
09 - Cambridge, Corn Exchange
10 - Leicester, De Montford Hall
12 - Leeds, O2 Academy
13 - Newcastle, O2 Academy
14 - Glasgow, Barrowlands
