pipe-bowlIch höre das neue Album als bisher schwächstes, besser formuliert als weniger gutes Album von Michael Kiwanuka. Die einen werden es sehr facettenreich finden, für mich ist es zu wenig kohärent.
Ich finde das Album unheimlich geschlossen und kohärent. Dafür ist sicherlich auch die Danger-Mouse-Produktion verantwortlich. Kiwanukas Persönlichkeit prägt das Album aber durch und durch.
Ich habe hier eine Review bei RYM gefunden, die das Album hervorragend analysiert, ich poste die mal, auch wenn sie sehr lang ist:
„What happens when an artist with talent seeping out of every pore suddenly sheds their self doubt and let’s that talent soar like a freakin’ golden eagle across the blistering sunset? ‘Kiwanuka’ happens.
The album’s title goes beyond the classic ‘self-titled’ album trend. Naming the album after his surname in particular, Michael Kiwanuka has taken a stand against the high school teachers who mispronounced his name, the music executives who suggested he swap it out for a more marketable alternative, and against his own history of identity crises and self-doubt. The album’s title is just the surface though. Just a label that stamps the deeply personal content within.
Lyrically, Kiwanuka is still full of questions and doubts. It’s just that now he is able to accept that part of himself. His dual identity forms the basis of this album’s core themes. The front cover depicts Michael as an African king, albeit dressed in an English Tudor style robe. On opener ‘You Ain’t The Problem’ he sings “If you don’t belong, live in the trouble”. It is a pretty clear statement of intent – feelings of insecurity and isolation will happen – own it. That sets the tone for the album to come. The way Kiwanuka uses civil rights sound bites and brushes his English/Ugandan identity struggles up against broader social issues like gun violence give the album a breadth and depth that rewards close attention.
That he pulls this off with a collection of tracks that are so easy to listen to is a wonder. Yet that easy listening never comes at the price of banality or sameness. The songs are lush and psychedelic. The variety and the vitality in these songs keeps the album rolling along with energy and intrigue the whole way through. Kiwanuka’s songwriting is wonderfully entertaining. His melodies are rich and inviting. His voice, as always, is warm, deeply personal and genuine. Like a tender Otis Redding or Bill Withers.
The way he draws together his influences is a lot of fun too. Kiwanuka stitches together soul, funk, rock, gospel, psychedelica and modern pop music in all kinds of entertaining ways. Opener ‘You Ain’t The Problem’ plays like a modern, psychedelicised version of one of Curtis Mayfield’s classics. ‘Rolling’ bounces along with an early 2000s Neo-Soul groove courtesy of Danger Mouse’s distinctive production. ‘Living In Denial’ swelters like a sequel to Isaac Hayes’ classic ‘Walk On By’.
However, some of the other tracks reveal their influences in more complex ways. Kiwanuka grew up in England through the 90s and this fact seems to have had a unique impact on his style. Tracks like ‘Light’ and particularly ‘I’ve Been Dazed’ don’t just recall gospel soul but rather – with the gently phased chord progression and rock tinged stylistic choices – bring to mind some of the 90s Brit Rock (Spiritualized, The Verve) that also took inspiration from gospel. It is like things have come full circle. African music styles influencing bands like The Rolling Stones, who then informed the sounds of 90s Brit Rock bands, who are now seeping into the sounds of a modern artist juggling his African and English heritage. Parts of ‘Piano Joint’ and ‘Solid Ground’ feel more complex than simple soul piano ballads, floating skyward with the jazz tinged, spooky grandeur of some of Radiohead’s haunting piano tracks. ‘Hard To Say Goodbye’ melds progressive psychedelic soul with a classic Morricone western film score feel. ‘Hero’ is a particularly brilliant example of Kiwanuka’s seamless genre stitching. A modern update on 1970s Central African Rock. When Jimi Hendrix records reached Zambia in the early 70s, local bands took inspiration from his big fuzzy guitar tones and psychedelic feel, melding it with their more Afro-centric take on rock music. Kiwanuka brings those feels, complete with buzzing guitars. Here though, with typical deftness, he surprises us mid-song with a bridge that puts a pause on the Afro-Rock for some Curtis Mayfield style lush strings and swooning vocals before leaping straight back into a blistering garage rock solo.
Kiwanuka’s collaborators – Danger Mouse and Inflo – provide the final ingredient, the extra touch, that help bring this album together. With subtle electronic flourishes and heavy grooves, they bring a contemporary edge to Kiwanuka’s retro psychedelic soul. Their background in hip hop production also comes in handy in the sequencing and structure of the album. Short interludes provide satisfying linkages between tracks. Always full of melody and beautiful sonic details, these linking tracks give the whole album a cohesion that draws the disparate larger songs together. The beauty here again is in the balance. Kiwanuka’s old soul authenticity helping ground the production duo’s more contemporary stylistic tendencies.
It is this artful balancing act that makes Kiwanuka such a rewarding listen. The balance between Kiwanuka’s African and English identity. His doubt and his pride. His retro influences and his contemporary collaborators. His tender, classic musicianship and his adventurous, psychedelic progressive side. His old self and his new self. In the in-between of all of these things, ‘Kiwanuka’ happens.“
@songbird: vielleicht magst du einfach die Danger Mouse-Produktion nicht.
--
Ohne Musik ist alles Leben ein Irrtum.