“We’re nowhere if we never sing”
When I first heard about the latest Michael Kiwanuka album due to come out, entitled “FUDGE”, I was. Taken aback to say the least. By everything. The name was atypical. All caps, like it was shouting out at me, and a name that didn’t seem fitting for a Kiwanuka project.
The cover really threw the most. Sideways, upwards every direction you could possibly be thrown. Previous Kiwanuka albums always had a very consistent array of colours. Take Kiwanuka’s debut LP “Home Again”, an album cover which is shaded in brown and dark oranges. Even its deluxe introduced a sort of maroon shading around the original cover. Or 2016s “Love And Hate” with its distinct black and white melting heart.
Not FUDGE though. FUDGE is bright and vibrant, if I had no knowledge that it was a Michael Kiwanuka record I would’ve assumed it was an untouched psychedelic rock gem from the 60s/70s that I had somehow never heard of.
All of this begs the almighty important question; what in the hell happened in the 2 years since 2024s “Small Changes”? The answer? A lot, unbeknownst to us all.
Alongside the album announcement was a personal message from Michael himself that explained it all. Kiwanuka explained that a few months ago he had suffered a stroke brought on by a bleed in his brain, brought on by high blood pressure. It led to some gig dates being cancelled as a result. In fact, Kiwanuka doesn’t know when he’ll be able to get back on the road again.
To say it was a surprising and shocking read would be an understatement. Around a year and a half ago I saw Michael Kiwanuka perform at the O2 Apollo in Manchester and, aside from the show being generally fantastic, not once did I ever think that Kiwanuka looked ill or on the verge of something that serious in any way.
But if there is a silver lining to what is an incredibly unfortunate situation, is that it allowed Kiwanuka to explore a new direction. The name FUDGE was a reference to sketches and Doodles Kiwanuka would draw up in University, and he wanted to reflect this playful nature on the record. Adding to this independent desire is the fact that neither producers Inflo or Danger Mouse, two of Kiwanuka’s long-time producing partners, are a part of this record, with FUDGE being entirely self-produced by Kiwanuka himself.
So, what does a Michael Kiwanuka record sound like when he’s left to his devices and sketches? The first of these is opener ‘Summer Clothes’, which begins not with Kiwanuka, but with famous jazz composer Chick Corea, in a video recording where he states that art in its simplest form is about the things that you find beautiful. That one little voice note captures the thesis of FUDGE, even for a song about Kiwanuka trying to reconcile with where this path, there’s an art to the way it’s conveyed. The strings throughout the track feel like the guide Kiwanuka needs in his life.
That theme of going out on his own personal journey permeates throughout FUDGE, but maybe not in the way that’s expected. Where many artists previous would riddle these songs with dark shades of uncertain grey and anxieties, this personal journey already has a level of acceptance to it, so the music is brighter, more alive, the tracing of this record feels more complete.
‘Just Another Moment’ is a blissfully delicate song, I haven’t been able to get out of my head the way Kiwanuka sings the title on this song, and it serves as one of many great slow builds on FUDGE. ‘Love In My Heart’ is a similarly slow yet majestic jam of a song, beating out Another Moment in length, but the payoff is far more rewarding here. The instrumental second that just keeps swelling in beauty, the guitar firing away, the strings continuing in their companion role, the piano completing the picture of this extended outro. It’s far and away the album’s finest moment to me.
But given the nature of recent events in Kiwanuka’s life, it was going to be impossible for there to not be songs that are toned down and even more deeply personal than what we already get here. ‘Across The Sky’ stands out for its acoustic presentation, which at this point in the record is an outlier, an odd colour amongst an otherwise orderly piece. But by the end of the record, these acoustic driven songs settle in and become part of the furniture.
The final shadings of Kiwanuka’s Art piece mirror the opening. ‘Sing’ expresses the utmost joy that Kiwanuka has when it comes to making music; amidst all the doubt about his future, there is a certainty in Kiwanuka’s life, that making music is the best endeavour he could’ve found himself going into. Closer ‘Swings And Roundabouts’ closes with another acoustic piece, that comes across as Kiwanuka processing the aftermath of his stroke. Yet there’s a comfort to hearing that Kiwanuka is still inspired to make what he believes, music that he thinks is beautiful. That Chick Corea recording holds a lot more weight now, doesn’t it?
FUDGE may be repetitive in its exploration of its themes of new paths and appreciation of art itself but given what Michael Kiwanuka has gone through in recent times, I think it’s fair to cut him some slack. And despite a very abrupt presentation, from the cover to the overall sensitive and intriciate sound, FUDGE is, at it’s simplest, about a man in recovery proving that he’s still capable of so, so much more. The greatest tragedy of all would be if Kiwanuka’s health issues stopped us from hearing the rest of his future sketches.
Michael Kiwanuka: FUDGE – Released 23 October 2026 (Polydor Records)
Kiwanuka – Summer Clothes (Official Video)
