The return of one of the UK’s most talented musicians has been bittersweet. After almost a year-long absence, soul singer Michael Kiwanuka announced the impending release of his fifth album, Fudge, along with the devastating news that he had suffered a stroke and was facing a lengthy recovery.
Fudge was recorded before the stroke, while the 39-year-old was still working on his critically adored 2024 album, Small Changes – following on from his 2020 Mercury Prize win, a Grammy nomination and the viral success of his 2017 single “Cold Little Heart” after it featured in the hit TV drama Big Little Lies. Instead of the plush surroundings of an LA studio, though, Fudge was made between Southampton and Frome with a small group of musicians. Kiwanuka also produced the album himself rather than teaming up with longtime collaborators Inflo and Dangermouse.
Calling the album “Fudge” does a good job of setting the tone for this new music. It’s delightfully loose, squashy and often sweet – Kiwanuka does romance very well – capturing a playfulness that is often lacking in contemporary music. There’s also the sense that he’s “fudging” it as he goes; these songs stretch out languorously and are loose in structure, as though the lyrics have come to him mid-jam session. “Just Another Moment” has a touch of the Wild West to it, with little shivers of castanets running down the song’s spine.
“You Sent Me Flying” is gorgeous and tender, delivered over the softest strums of acoustic guitar. The swoon of strings comes in gradually, as does the dreamy twang of a slide guitar. Kiwanuka sings as though half-asleep, blissfully, wrapped up in thoughts of a loved one. “Stars” opens fiercely, with jagged Stones-esque squalls of electric guitar, but it’s a sad song in which he frets that his joy of making music is slipping away. “Sing”, too, yearns for “miracles to wash away the pain because/ life is hard to live”. Here, Kiwanuka deploys a slightly strained upper register, the slight cracks in his voice allowing real grief to shine through.
There’s been a lot of talk lately from artists about the need to trust your instincts. Amid uncertainty in the music industry but also the wider world, it’s easy to start second-guessing yourself, the conversation goes – but if you don’t believe in what you’re creating, why should anyone else?
Indeed, Kiwanuka seems particularly aware of this. A recording of an interview with jazz pianist Chick Corea precedes Fudge’s opening track: “What music is about is… creating the kinds of things that you think are beautiful… You have to learn to be certain about what you like, not what you think sounds good to someone else.” That ethos rewards both him and the listener on this wonderful record.
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