Michael Kiwanuka’s new album grew out of a smaller recording setup and a decision to lead his own production.
Michael Kiwanuka has released FUDGE, his fifth studio album, through Polydor Records. Arriving October 23, the project was written alongside the work that became 2024’s Small Changes, rather than beginning only after that record was finished.
This time, Kiwanuka took charge of production himself. The shift marks a different working arrangement from his recent albums with Danger Mouse and Inflo, with recordings made primarily in Southampton and Frome.
The sessions were later developed with producer Dom Monks and Kiwanuka’s longtime string collaborator Rosie Danvers. That combination allowed the record’s smaller-scale beginnings to meet additional arranging and production work without changing its self-directed foundation.
One important setting was Dreamers, described in the original album announcement as a one-room studio near Kiwanuka’s home in Southampton. Working with his live-band collaborator Joe Connell, he found the direction for “Love In My Heart” through a jam rather than a fully fixed plan.
The twelve-track sequence opens with “Summer Clothes” and closes with “Swings And Roundabouts.” “California,” now accompanied by a lyric video, sits near the beginning, while “Stars,” “You Sent Me Flying” and “Sing” help fill out the new collection.
Stevie Gee created the album’s illustrated artwork, adding another change to the presentation of this chapter. Kiwanuka’s live commitments remain on hold, so the release currently offers the clearest way to experience the material without implying that new tour dates are imminent.
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