KIWANUKA

So one tracks like 'Hero' and 'Rolling' have menacing taut groove and some interesting instrumental sounds. In fact, the whole album has a late sixties prog/psychedelic rock feel, with some lysergic sounds and a spacey use of reverb on tracks like 'Piano Joint' and 'Final Days'. The highs are really good but several tracks meander or are just interludes, which takes the album down a notch. That said it's a very satisfying album and potentially one that will grow with each listen.

Beautiful album

Great songs sung interestingly.

Mostly rather good, some duff tracks but they're a minority

Lovely lovely lovely

I enjoyed the album, thought it was refreshing, atmospheric, classy and contemporary. Great songs, voice and quality production. While I'm encouraged by more recent additions to the 1001 list, I do wonder if they can stand the test of time? I'd like to come back to this album in a few years time to see if it has the same impact.

Awesome album wish I heard it sooner

High 3

Soulful, tuneful…. Great album!

3/5 1.Groovy, enjoy the samples good chorus. 2.good chorus dislike overall- I actuallly hate this song 3.ight 4&5.GOOD SONG EYS 6.funny sample, cool skit into 7 7.GOOD SONG yes i very much enjoy the samples this mans uses, its a very refreshing take on folk?!? 7&8 MID 9.Thumbs up! any sample from this guy wins i love the ppl going la la alalalal 10.UH decent skit 11. idr 12.MID

Ottima da sottofondo mentre si fa qualcosa d'altro. In 'Piano Joint' si esprime al massimo sia la voce, sia la sonorità dell'album. Un mix di generi, molto orecchiabile, ma senza particolari che risaltano. Comunque un piacevole ascolto, tra il 3 e il 4.

Yowza!! Zoiks!!

Better than I anticipated

3/5 didn't make the cut

It was ok

Top

Amazing album, with special notes in a new time.

Was feelin it on I5 then realized these are the exact same chord progressions and vocal melodies as his earlier Big Little Lies album, which was very very solid. Unfortunately every one of us has a finite amount we can say artistically and Michael may have topped out with soundtracking Nicole Kidman in Big Sur. But maybe not. The songs may be similar, but there's an added patience that hints at something better. I think the next one could be more interesting. Peace. B-

Upbeat, epic, dramatic. Both modern and retro. Is thus the Big Little Lies intro song guy? Each one of these songs seemed well though out and composed, had a beginning middle and end. I’m impressed. Not a bad song, so I guess it’s a 5.

Good. Need to listen to it again.

Kiwanuka is a modern classic with a modern version of soul that is a natural successor of the music created by sous legends like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. The arrangements are fabulous and the production is great.

Very interesting - light guitar and piano, plus soulful singing, plus orchestral hits and some noise. My kind of soul.

Ganz cool!

Sehr gut auch wenn eigentlich nicht mein Ding

This album was totally out of left field for me, but wow what a good surprise. This is a contender for my favorite album on my list so far. It is an absolute masterpiece

The first track hooked me, had to go back to it a few times. Saved to library. The second track was great too. Mostly enjoyed the album, but did get a bit bored by the end. The first two tracks set me up for success and I wanted more of that throughout.

68 KIWANUKA -Michael Kiwanuka 14 tracks Wow!Face with open mouth I will excuse his lazyness in album name choice because this is good, VERY good. I will listen to this again, (& again & again), but I will also listen to his other stuff. Amazing voice, strings, variation, proper album Thumbs up 5/5

Lo trovo intrigante. È un mix interessante di generi che si sposano benissimo fra loro. Servono più ascolti per apprezzare davvero. Kiwanuka ha una voce sensuale ed espressiva.

Amazing synths and lyrics

Very solid music. Since this is recent I am giving 4 stars to maybe boost his scores so we hear more from him in the future

Very nice to hear a new unknown to me artist. Decent.

VERY pleasantly surprised by this album, wow! I thoroughly enjoyed this entire album, and have never heard of this artist, nor was it a genre I expected to enjoy this much.

Muy buen disco. Solo tengo mis dudas que este disco haya entrado en la última edición, creo que solo hay edición 2018 del libro. Y además, por más bueno que sea, debería dejarse madurando, muchos de los otros discos están en el listado por lo que han impactado a lo largo del tiempo, un disco del 2019 creo que aún no ha logrado ese impacto, sin demeritar su calidad claro

Soulful, groovy, funky. Soundtrack to a 70s dinner party.

never heard of this album glad to have found it. generally chill beats with some drive

Nice chill jazz, soul kind of things. But the instrumentals sometimes seemed very mixed and made listening a bit tiring trying to figure out what the "noises" were which I was listening to. Apart from that, neat music.

Bangin

Solid ground is a classic. The rest of the album is wonderful warm and soulful

Never heard kiwanuka, awesome!

I wouldn't have found this album on my own and I had never heard of the artist (apparently he's more popular in the UK) but it was quite good - a modern album with elements of retro soul. 4/5 stars as I felt that the album became a bit slow and ambient.

A very pleasant surprise. Funky, soulful, and Radiohead-esque.

Melodic songs in a softer style. Reminded me of 70s pop in places.

60s vibe. Very chill, relaxing.

Gorgeous orchestration with space for powerful vocals and interesting production accents

Pleased to see this as album number 1, one I've enjoyed a lot but not listened to in ages.

Paul Simon meets Soul/Pop. Enjoyable listen but lost my attention towards the end. Suriprised by how much of the album I recognised from the radio

One of my favorite albums of 2020 – Kiwanuka's voice and guitar work are unique but comforting. Modern blues for the soul.

Wow, this was really great. Recent album, but sounded more like late 60's psychedelia. Very good discovery. 4 stars.

Not bad. I liked Hero, Final Days, and Solid Ground. The rest of it sounded like it should be the soundtrack to Jackie Brown.

Was hier zu Anfang so schmissig Senor Rossi übers Parkett jagt, entwickelt sich zum wahnsinnig schönen und vielfältig-ausgewogenen Kunstwerk. Nicht erst mit dem zweigeteilten Mittelstück „Piano Joint“, wo James Blake nahtlos an Zero7 übergibt, erreicht Michael Kiwanuka seine Meisterweihe - aber ab dann erst recht. Seine warme und unaufdringlich markante Stimme lässt erahnen, was aus Coldplay hätte werden können („I‘ve been dazed“), wo Khruangbin das Tuning gut täte („Rolling“ & „Hero“), The Go!Team ihre Bratzigkeit sparsamer eigesetzt haben könnten („You Ain‘t the Problem“) und er so schmachtend perfekt Jonathan Jeremiah‘s Brother of Different Father wäre („Living in Denial“). Lovely 4.4

Erstaunlich vielseitig, der junge Mann. Mit einem Tah Abstand aber auch: erstaunlich wenig hängen geblieben bei mir. Angenehm, stellenweise auch auf jeden Fall interessant. Aber nicht weltbewegend. Bei mir gibt’s für sowas ne 3. Immer schön den goldenen Mittelweg, wie von Oma gepredigt.

NEW BLOOD! Let's start here: I truly believe it's a great idea that new albums are added to this list every few years. Hell, I'm up for anything that will remove some of the far-too-many Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen albums that populate the list. My concern is that the additions are only chosen among recent releases. They never go back and reassess some previously released albums that missed the cut originally; albums that have held up or been given a second life in later years. And yes, I'm still beating the drum for getting the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, and a Bob Seger or Jackson Browne album on this list. The other concern about adding only the recent albums could fall under the "Can't see the forest from the trees" argument. The most glaring example of this is Taylor Swift's "Evermore" being included over "Folklore" with these new additions. It's not a stretch to say that Folklore is widely considered the better of the two Swift albums released in 2020. In fact, Evermore was almost an afterthought. It's a great album, but it almost feels like a bonus album of songs that missed the cut from being included on Folklore. I mean, Folklore won the Album of the Year Grammy for crying out loud, a distinction which along deserves at least consideration on this list. Which brings us to the album in question by Michael Kiwanuka, an artist I hate to admit I knew nothing about until today. And Good Lord is this a great fucking album. It's a well deserved new entry on the list. But I'm already hearing things like, "Yes, it's remarkable, but the album he did before it called 'Love & Hate' is the true masterpiece." And true to form, Spotify played me Kiwanuka's most popular track when this album ended ("Cold Little Heart", which gained notoriety for being the theme song of that HBO series "Big Little Lies" that was only worth watching for Laura Dern embracing her batshit crazy side). I hear a lot of Stevie Wonder here, along with some Bill Withers and Leon Bridges. Unfortunately, there's just a little too much Danger Mouse. Kiwanuka doesn't need that kind of karma. I'll be spending more time in Michael Kiwanuka's world. Not even Danger Mouse can keep me away.

Has all the Inflo hallmarks except the one where even the peaks have been smoothed out. I noticed few specifics but enough generalities to know a) it's not a hook-fest even though it's plenty varied, and b) it's not wallpaper music even though it's plenty soothing. That's interesting enough for me to hedge a 2.

Accomplished brilliance.

Solid, but unspectacular. He can really sing, but all felt a bit restrained for me.

Soulful, catchy, and moving.

Wow! How refreshing to listen to something that lacks a clear definition of genre while being impressively unpredictable. The sound ranges from 60s rock, to ambience, to blues and jazz, sounding classic and contemporary at the same time. Massive respect to him.

Nice voice but overall the songs are a bit too mellow, quiet for my liking and too monotonous

I thought his was tremendous. A very distinct voice, but stylistically hard to pin down. Soulfully performed and deeply personal, and just very good

Мед и шоколадное молоко