Michael Kiwanuka, Home Again

A few months ago, British soul singer Michael Kiwanuka's debut album, Home Again was released in the UK. The album's release had been highly anticipated, with Kiwanuka having won BBC's Sound of 2012 poll for best new artist. With critics and listeners hot for his album, it quickly jumped to #4 on the album charts. 

Fortunately for you, the album was finally released in the states last week. And as someone who has been listening to it for a few months now, let me just say that it is fantastic. 

I first heard the title track to the album back in January and I was immediately taken by the song. Kiwanuka, who has named Bill Withers, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, and The Band amongst his influences, definitely has a retro soul sound. But he also has a keen sense of just how much to draw on these influences and how much to just be in the moment as a current songwriter. It makes Kiwanuka's songs and his new album feel current and timeless. 

Tell Me A Tale  

The son of Ugandan parents, Kiwanuka spent his early years in and around London absorbed in the music of bands such as Nirvana and Radiohead. When he was in his mid-teens, he stopped listening to guitar based bands when he heard Bob Dylan's Don't Think Twice, It's All Right. In an interview with the Liverpool Daily Post, Kiwanuka said that it was the first song that made him want to be a musician. "I might not sound like Dylan, but as soon as I heard that, I switched from electric to acoustic guitar, and really starred thinking about the structure of my songs." As he began writing his own songs, his concern was whether there was a place for the type of music that he wanted to write in today's music industry. 

In an interview with Sabatage Times, Kiwanuka explained, “I didn’t know if people would take me seriously....I like a lot of soul but I also put a lot of folk into what I do, and with modern music the way it is I used to think people would just expect me to be a modern R&B singer, because I just can’t do that.” But he went on to say, “When I started going back and listening to older music and discovering artists again, seeing that people like Al Green played guitar, Curtis Mayfield played guitar, it made me think, you know, this can be done. It really encouraged me to keep pursuing it.”

Kiwanuka's pursuit has lead him all the way to this debut release which was produced by Paul Butler of The Bees. Staying true to his singer-songwriting approach to music, his songs are built around Kiwanuka's guitar and lyrics. Given this, the opening song, Tell Me A Tale, is not necessarily the best indicator of what to expect with the rest of his album. But the song pays tribute to the music and artists that most influenced Kiwanuka and it sets the tone for Home Again nicely. What follows is a quieter, soulful album that beautifully blends the older musical style of artists such as Withers with his own. Having come back to Home Again many times over the past few months, I will say that continues to be one of my favorite releases of the year.  

Home Again