The first time I heard Michael Kiwanuka it was in the fall of last year, and I remember thinking to myself "this guy is going to be huge". With the release of his first full-length album, Home Again, that may finally come to pass. He has been drawing praise from many bloggers and the comparisons to Bill Withers, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke are well deserved. While many of the recent soul-revival artists seem to have one foot in the past and one in the present, melding old and new styles, Kiwanuka has his feet grounded firmly in the musical eras of his influences. Listen to I'm Getting Ready:
I'm Getting Ready - Michael Kiwanuka
Not a single nod to the present in that one, and it is all the better for it. While his voice sounds a lot like the above mentioned artists, I would place his music in the style of Van Morrison or Nick Drake. Check out I'll Get Along which sounds like Bill Withers singing a Cat Stevens song:
I'll Get Along - Michael Kiwanuka
Kiwanuka was raised in the Muswell Hill neighborhood of North London, to Ugandan parents. He is all of 24 years old and I'm expecting great things from him in the future.
Home Again is due out on April 12th domestically on Polydor UK or today in the UK. Buy it here.
For Fans of: Bill Withers, Sam Cooke, Van Morrison, Otis Redding
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