Discopop Directory: Top 10 albums of 2016

Better late than never, here are my top 10 albums of the year just passed. As always, the rankings are based on my iTunes play counts - so these are the records I actually listened to, not the ones I appreciated on an intellectual level (nb: I don't have an intellectual level).

So, without further ado...

10) Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Depending on your point of view, Radiohead either rediscovered the joy of melody on this, their ninth album, or simply released half a dozen forgotten songs from "when they were good". Who cares, though, when the results were this magical? Boosted by Jonny Greenwood's cinematic string arrangements, the album feels epic and intimate at the same time, from the low flying panic attack of Burn The Witch to the grieving melancholy of True Love Waits - a track written as a love letter almost 20 years ago, only to be released as Thom Yorke's relationship fell apart.



9) Tove Lo - Lady Wood

Tove Lo is the pop equivalent of Just 17's sex column. "Look at this smut," she says, patting herself firmly on the back. "Isn't it outrageous?"

That attitude is writ large throughout Lady Wood, from the title (fun fact: it's a euphemism for a clitoral erection) to the vagina in the logo. Meanwhile, Tove effs and jeffs her way through the album like a teenager trying to shock her parents, but her heart is in the right place. The confessional tales of lust, loss and desperation are relatable and cathartic - and she anchors everything in a dark, minimalist house production.

She may call herself a True Disaster, but this is a blemished pop gem.



8) Clare Maguire - Stranger Things Have Happened

Clare Maguire has been through the wringer and no mistake. Dropped by her label, she was drinking litres of vodka every day until a doctor gave her two weeks to live. Miraculously (and with a lot of hard work) she turned her life around and produced this spell-binding album of classic, piano-led pop.

She's at her best when she peers into the abyss - Channelling Nina Simone on the autobiographical opening track, Faded; and delivering the best lonely hearts advert of all time on Whenever You Want It: "I just wanna have someone who laughs at my shit jokes."

Don't we all, Clare? Don't we all?



7) Michael Kiwanuka - Love and Hate

Resolutely old-school, Michael Kiwanuka's second album riffs on Marvin, Isaac and Curtis but never descends into pastiche. It finds him world-weary and melancholy, after a crisis of confidence almost persuaded him to abandon music altogether. "But when you have all or nothing to lose, you just become fearless," he told Nothing But Hope And Passion.

The result is breath-taking: A psych-soul opus backed by opulent strings and a full choir. The opening track unfolds over 10 minutes, while the bluesy Black Man In A White starts like a plantation song before picking up a funky shuffle that never quite settles into a groove - a musical metaphor for Kiwanuka's sense of unease. It took a lot of people by surprise, in the best possible way.



6) Christine & The Queens - Chaleur Humaine

I came to this far too late but that was my own stupid fault. Chaleur Humaine is classy, delicate synthpop that embraces mystery and androgyny like nothing else on this list. Lots of mainstream artists get labelled "outsider pop" but Héloïse Letissier is the real deal.


Of course, I wasn't the only person to overlook it: In her native France, Héloïse released the album in 2014, winning a cupboard full of awards and receiving endorsements from Madonna and Elton John. That it took her to re-record some of the lyrics in English merely illustrates, in the year of Brexit, how closeted and unadventurous the UK can be, even in the resolutely liberal world of pop.



5) Nao - For All We Know

In a year we lost Prince, Nao made the best Prince album this side of Musicology. For All We Know is a lurching, off-kilter, pop-funk extravaganza, where the South Londoner autopsies love (requited and otherwise) in her gorgeous, high-pitched voice. A thoroughly impressive debut.



4) Shura - Nothing's Real

Imagine if Madonna ever experienced doubt or insecurity. That's Shura's debut album. Named in honour of a panic attack that altered her perception of reality, it follows an introverted wallflower as she navigates her way through crushes, infatuations and break-ups ("thought we'd get married and have kids and stuff," she sings of one particularly devastating break-up).

Where she doesn't lack confidence, though, is in the music. What's It Gonna Be, all staccato guitars and shimmering synths, it sounds like the theme to a 1980s teen film without succumbing to pastiche. Even better is the extended, bravura coda of White Light - the disco equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey's Star Gate sequence.



3) Regina Spektor - Remember Us To Life

Back after a baby-having hiatus, Regina Spektor is on fine form. Her character studies and lyrical insights are sharper than ever ("All the lies on your resumé have become the truth by now," she sings on Older and Taller), while the sombre tone smooths out her quirkier tics. Not coincidentally, this is the first time she's written a record from scratch).

The stand-outs are many: The Grand Hotel is a baroque ballad that reimagines Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest as a portal to hell; while The Trapper and The Furrier is a scathing polemic about the greed of bankers and pharmaceutical companies that starts a capella and ends with an unrestrained scream. Best of all is Sellers of Flowers - a deep blue ink blot, lamenting the fragility of memory.

An absolute treat.


2) Solange - A Seat At The Table

On which Beyonce's little sister comes into her own. Recorded in New Iberia, Louisiana, where her grandparents were fire-bombed out of their house fifty years ago, it is informed by the dehumanising acts, large and small, black people face on a daily basis. That doesn't mean it's an angry album, although anger certainly rears it's head. Rather, Solange presents a poised, nuanced portrait of the pains and joys of black womanhood.

Musically, she's found her footing, too. Gone is the lightweight R&B of her debut album, in favour of deep, dreamy R&B grooves. You'll recognise the spirits of Minnie Riperton, Marvin Gaye, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Herbie Hancock and Isaac Hayes dropping by to pay their respects - but this is Solange's album, through and through.



1) Beyoncé - Lemonade

Remember when everyone thought Lemonade was a record about Jay-Z cheating on Beyoncé? Turns out "Becky with the good hair" is the biggest Trojan horse since, well, that horse in Troy.

Beyoncé's tale of betrayal masked a much bigger discourse on male privilege, white privilege, police violence, female empowerment, rejection, forgiveness, anger, scorn, pain, redemption... The list goes on.

The signs were there when she turned up at the Super Bowl dressed as a Black Panther and made a video in which she sat on top of a police car as it sank into post-Katrina floodwaters. Those are pretty bold statements, especially for an artist of Beyoncé's stature. Can you imagine Elvis or Michael Jackson putting their necks on the line so boldly. No, you cannot.

But here's the thing - the message goes nowhere without fantastic tunes. Luckily, Beyoncé delivered them by the truckful. Hold Up, Sorry, All Night, Freedom, Formation - Beyoncé could have sung, "Yes my name is Iggle Piggle" over those tracks and they'd still be classics. (Note to Beyoncé: Please release this record in 2017).

So there you go... I'm gutted there wasn't space for Chance The Rapper or Childish Gambino, both of whom signposted a way out of rap's current cul-de-sac, or for A Tribe Called Quest's comeback, which did the same thing by sounding exactly like a Tribe Called Quest album from 20 years ago. I thought Ariana Grande might get a look-in, but the album squandered it's promise with a bunch of cookie cutter dance bops that had the filthy hands of major label A&R all over them.

Bat For Lashes' excellent The Bride (about a bride whose fiancé is killed on the way to their wedding) would have had a place if it wasn't so depressing to listen to, in a good way. And Frank Ocean's Blonde loses out for that godawful Facebook interlude. What a crock.

Anyway, let's not end on a sour note. Here's a playlist of the best tracks from those Top 10 albums. If you find something you like, why not buy it and single-handedly save the music industry?

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Songs you may have missed... Bumper edition

Hello, I have woken from my slumber and discovered a sackful (technical term) of brand new music waiting for me. Here's what you (I) missed during the last three weeks of inactivity.

1) Little Mix - Hair
In which we discover that Little Mix wear slinky lingerie and full make-up for a girls' night in. Of course they do.




2) Roisin Murphy - Mastermind
When she said there was a ton of material left over from last year's Hairless Toys, it turns out she wasn't lying. This is the first single from a new album called, intriguingly, Take Her Up To Monto.





3) Taylor Swift - New Romantics
Accompanied by a video that is the dictionary definition of "will this do?"




4) Carly Rae Jepsen - Boy Problems
Nice mullet.




5) Grimes - A full gig by Grimes
This is amazing. A complete half-hour live set, direct from the BBC's Maida Vale studios.




6) DNCE - Cake By The Ocean
I'm sure you're aware of this one by now - but the video version is much more sweary.




7) Honne and Izzy Bizu - Someone That Loves You
Dreamy electro-soul, with an undercurrent of unrequited lust. This is sublime.




8) Slowolf ft Kimbra - White Feathers
Danish producer Slowolf is a drummer - and it really shows on this jittery, polyrhythmic potboiler. Kimbra provides an impassioned vocal, and it's all recorded live in a scrapyard for some reason.




9) Michael Kiwanuka - Black Man In A White World
The BBC's Sound of 2012 is back, still sounding like the sound of 1971. I still maintain he's found a vault of unreleased Bill Withers tracks and is pretending they're his own material.




10) Will.i.am ft Pia Mia - Girls & Boys
If you put 1,000,000 will.i.am's in front of 1,000,000 laptops, one of them will eventually write an above average pop song. And here it is.




11) Broods - Free
New Zealand brother-sister duo Broods have upped the ante with this, the first single from their second album. Free is strident, powerful and ever-so-slightly abrasive - the sort of thing that would have been perfect on The Hunger Games soundtrack.




12) Blossoms - Getaway
Blossoms are the indie band most likely to cross over in 2016, and for good reason. Never shy of a melody, and fortuitously telegenic, they're a music programmer's dream. Getaway is their catchiest single yet, and it comes with a video that appears to be a lost episode of 1980s spookfest Dramarama.



13) Rihanna - Kiss It Better
The director says this is inspired by "surrealism and dadaism" - which is funny, because I don't remember either of those previously being associated with soft porn.



14) El El - Animal
This slice of summery, feel-good indiepop reminds me of MGMT (when they were good) Phoenix (when they were good) and Empire of the Sun (when they were good). So check out this eight-piece Nashville band before they go completely off the boil.

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Discopop Directory: Top 10 albums of 2012

Happy New Year!

As 2012 disappears in the rear view mirror, I've tackled my iTunes library to see which albums I listened to most. There are a few surprises (I don't remember listening to this much Michael Kiwanuka) and some glaring omissions (Emeli Sande - presumably because she was on TV so often it rendered the album redundant).

But I am glad to say the Frank Ocean album didn't make the top 10 because, let's be honest, it's patchy and inconsistent and that Forrest Gump song is utter balls.


10) Jack White - Blunderbuss

Where would rock be without failed relationships? From Fleetwood Mac's Rumours to Amy Winehouse's Back To Black, other people's tragedies have inspired some of pop's best songs. Jack White is no exception - his break-up from Karen Elson fuelling his first solo album. It is by no means a coincidence that it's his best work since The White Stripes' Elephant.

"When they tell you that they just can't live without you," he sings at one point. "They ain't lyin', they'll take pieces of you". The lyrics on this album prompted one newspaper to write a hysterical rant about White's supposed misogyny. Admittedly, it seems cruel that he made his ex-wife sing the backing vocals, but there's more to this album than a crude hatred of women. Blunderbuss is blistering with hurt, fury and cynicism - and it's all the better for it.



9) Scissor Sisters - Magic Hour

"You may not hear this on MTV," sings Jake Shears on Best In Me. "No big deal. Fine by me." Sadly, he was right - programmers on radio and TV never really threw their weight behind this album, leading the band to announce they were going on "indefinite hiatus" at the end of the year. If Magic Hour proves to be their swansong, at least it was a good one. Highlights included the Neptunes-produced Inevitable and the sleazy Shady Love, featuring Azealia Banks.



8) Alt-J - An Awesome Wave

Proving that singing like Kermit The Frog needn't necessarily be a handicap, Alt-J walked away with the Mercury Prize in November. An Awesome Wave is one of those records that makes awards committees feel smart, with its intricate pararhythms, lyrics about maths, and a capella interludes. But it wears it lightly, burying all the trickery beneath some gorgeous tunes, in particular the hit single Tessellate. Which is about interlocking body parts, of course.





7) Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

Poor old Michael Kiwanuka. A winner of numerous hyperbolic "sound of" polls in January, his profile seemed to flatline around Valentine's Day. He probably prefers it that way, though. Home Again is shot through with a sunny spirituality that megastardom would have destroyed... Listening back to the album this morning, I was struck by how the sepia-tinged Al Green grooves would have been the perfect soundtrack to the summer. If only we'd had one.



6) Grimes - Visions

Grimes is Canada's Claire Boucher, and Visions is her third album. It sounds so completely unlike anything else that critics all seemed to come unstuck trying to review it. "The sound of an internal war," said the NME. Pitchfork described it as "post-internet" and if you can work out what this reviewer (who actually uses the vomit-inducing phrase "wet dream pop") is on about, I will give you £10.

The Onion's AV Club got it right for me, calling the album "a cryptic blur of impressions" - capturing the way Boucher's floaty, ephemeral vocals and echo-drenched electro beats slowly coalesced into a work of sublime, unhinged genius.



5) Marina & The Diamonds - Electra Heart

Marina went off to LA to construct this album with top-flight songwriters like Greg Kurstin and Rick "Belinda Carlisle" Nowles and, by God, did it produce results. The first 30 minutes of the album are flawless - the best "side one" of the year.

Electra Heart was initially touted as a "concept" - something to do with American femme fatale archetypes - but, as Marina later confessed, all it's really about is "being young and being in love with someone who doesn't love you". It's the female counterpart to Jack White's break-up album - but with monstrous godzilla pop hooks destroying everything in their path. Awesome.



4) The Staves - Dead and Born and Grown

The Staves were my bandcrush of the year, even if everyone else ignored them (this album crept into the charts at number 42 for a single week). Three sisters from Watford, they perform bluegrass-inspired folk harmonies with unnerving clarity and beauty. Their debut album was produced by Ethan Johns (Laura Marling) and his dad Glyn (The Beatles) but all these veteran knob-twiddlers really had to do was sit back and let Staveley siblings sing. Uncluttered and beguiling, Dead And Born And Grown is like snuggling up under a warm duvet on a stormy night.



3) Regina Spektor - What We Saw From The Cheap Seats

At first it seemed underwhelming - Regina retreading old ground and even recycling old tunes (Ne Me Quitte Pas first appeared, in a very different guise, on 2002's Songs). But What We Saw From The Cheap Seats was one of those albums that kept calling me back. In particular, the heartbreaking ballad How, about fading memories of love, and All The Rowboats, written from the point of view of a painting in a museum. It's a subtle record, refining rather than reinventing Regina's style, but it will take root in your soul.





2) Jessie Ware - Devotion

People compared her to Sade. That was unfair. Jessie Ware's album had more blood and grit than anything Sade ever produced - from its rumbling sub bass, to the self-sacrifice in Taking In Water. The sensual Wildest Moments was my single of the year, while 110% is the best song about dancing on your own since Robyn's... Dancing On My Own.

One of the few R&B albums of the year to make any kind of attempt at melody, Devotion rivals Solange's Losing You in signposting where the genre should head in 2013.




1) Lana Del Rey - Paradise

What the top three albums on this list have in common is that the artist has carved out a sound that is instantly, undeniably their own. Lana Del Rey's debut album is equal parts 1950s torch songs, hip-hop insouciance, and the car crash scene from Great Gatsby. Half of the songs here wouldn't work if they were sung by a pitch-perfect X Factor melisma-meister - they need that louche, knowing wink that Lana delivers in her ridiculously affected drawl.

All the brouhaha about her "authenticity" seems ridiculous with the benefit of hindsight. In fact, the confidence and self-belief it took to construct Born To Die's noir pop aesthetic is more authentic than a million Jake Bugg albums. Oh, and the songs are amazing: Video Games, Off To The Races, National Anthem, Blue Jeans, Summertime Sadness. Brilliant work that reveals new secrets even on the 50th listen.

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Michael Kiwanuka is trying to make me cry

So, the longlist for the BBC's Sound Of 2013 is out. Regular readers will know I'm very excited to see Haim and AlunaGeorge and A*M*E get nominations, while Laura Mvula, Kodaline, Palma Violets and Chvrches are all strong nominees, too. (You can see the whole list here.)

A couple of the papers are carping on this morning about how the 2012 winner, Michael Kiwanuka, has "flopped". True, he never quite set the world on fire - he'd be more likely to buy the world a cocoa - but his album quietly sold over 100,000 copies, making it one of the year's most successful debuts (although still a long way behind Emeli Sande's million-selling Our Version Of Events).

With impeccable timing, Michael just released the video for his latest, and presumably final, single from Home Again. Set in Spain, the clip for Always Waiting is a heart-rending little story, which unexpectedly brought a lump to my throat first thing this morning.

Tissues at the ready, then...

Michael Kiwanuka - Always Waiting

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Back from the brink*

HELLO THERE!

Thanks for bearing with me during the week-long break. I notice that traffic to the site only dipped very slightly. No doubt it was bolstered by the perennially popular searches for "What is the meaning of Ed Sheeran's Small Bump?" and "Granny Porn" - which take you to this page and this page, respectively.

To be honest, I didn't listen to much new music while I was away. Jessie Ware's terrific debut album was on near-constant repeat and, when it wasn't, I was doing important holiday things like reading a book, or sleeping in the afternoon, or falling asleep reading a book in the afternoon.

"Nonetheless", these four songs caught my eye (ear?) and here they are with a brief explanation of the music and images carried within the video container directly below the relevant text.

1) Tame Impala - Elephant
Strap on your sideburns and pull on your platform boots because Tame Impala have gone glam rock. This is the first single from Aussie quintet's second album, Lonerism, and finds them peering down the same time-tunnel as The Black Keys on their (excellent) El Camino album.

Elephant is based around a grizzly guitar-fuzz shuffle, but also features the worst drum solo since a badger got trapped in our crockery cupboard.



2) Taylor Swift - We Are Totally Never Ever Whatever, So Like OK, Yeah?
OK, that might not be the actual title, but it captures the spirit of Taylor "country music, what's country music?" Swift's new direction. The song, co-written by Swedish pop magicians Max Martin and Shellback, is as catchy as it is unoriginal. The video is ostensibly shot in one take, although the edit points are fairly obvious, and features a maniacally happy man dressed as a dog. I love it.



3) Ultraista - Bad Insect
I don't know much about this band except that they consist of Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich, former REM drummer Joey Waronker, and their significantly younger vocalist, Laura Bettinson, who used to be in an aggressively boring band called Dimbleby And Copper (click here to see footage of them playing to half-a-dozen people at Glastonbury 2009).

Their collaboration is much, much better than the above explanation might lead you to believe.



4) Michael Kiwanuka - Bones
Here's a conversation I overheard recently: "Why do you think the Michael Kiwanuka album flopped?", "He was really, really boring". Ah well, I still think he's got more soul than the rest of the top 40 combined. Bones, the latest single from that album, combines Soggy Bottom Boy back-up vocals with a wonderfully old-school snare drum shuffle.

Don't bother watching the video - just let the tune play while you go off to buy The Hunger Games DVD on Amazon.


* Chichester

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Break out the jazz flute, it's Michael Kiwanuka!

Oh, sorry. Wrong clip.

That was meant to be the new video from Michael Kiwanuka, whose Sound Of 2012 status hasn't exactly helped him to multi-platinum sales. Home Again, his debut album, entered the chart at number four when it came out, but it's been slumming it in the lower reaches of the Top 40 ever since.

Which is a shame, because it's a superbly-crafted set of songs, as comfortable as one of Labrinth's woolly cardigans. If you decide to check it out, I recommend the deluxe edition - as the extra disc of alternative mixes by Ethan Johns (Laura Marling, Kings Of Leon) is actually an improvement on the official release. He gives the material a slightly sharper focus than the Paul Butler, whose production sometimes disappears in a fug of incense and "special" cigarettes.

But I digress. Here's the flute-enhanced new single, I'll Get Along, which should make you sink back in your chair and go "aaaaaaahhh" for approximately three-and-a-half minutes.

Michael Kiwanuka - I'll Get Along

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Michael Kiwanuka continues run of very good songs with a new song that's very good

This popped up on Soundcloud yesterday - the b-side to Michael Kiwanuka's new single, I'm Getting Ready. It's a collaboration with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and it is called Lasan. Almost a textbook definition of "a little bit country", it's (yet another) showcase for the London soul singer's incredibly resonant and tender vocals.




If this wasn't good enough to make it on to his debut album, how awesome and incredible must that album be? Here is a helpful guide:

(That Madonna single is really quite wonderfully terrible, by the way. I shan't post it for the sake of your ears - but here's the link. Brace yourself.)

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Michael Kiwanuka is getting ready

Michael Kiwanuka is gearing up for the release of his debut album, Home Again, next month with the re-release of the gently spiritual ballad I'm Getting Ready. Video-wise, it's all gone a bit EastEnders, but just close your eyes and enjoy the song - which has so many roots it could be a field of potatoes.

Michael Kiwanuka - I'm Getting Ready

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Michael Kiwanuka wins the Sound of 2012

I'm am thrilled to bits that Michael Kiwanuka has picked up the BBC's Sound Of 2012 accolade. Long-time readers will know the blog has been supporting his music since last May, when his debut EP Tell Me A Tale came out.

The Guardian are probably going to sneer that Michael is part of the "new boring" phenomenon they keep trying to make happen. And yes, Michael does wear an interesting selection of chunky knitwear, but he's also one of the most affecting, soulful artists the UK has produced in a decade.

If you haven't heard his music yet, I've posted a handful of videos below. Just listening to them should make all the tension drop out of your shoulders and brighten up your day immeasurably.

Michael Kiwanuka - I'm Getting Ready (acoustic)


Michael Kiwanuka - Tell Me A Tale


Michael Kiwanuka - I'll Get Along (live)


Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again


Wasn't that marvellous? All of those songs, with the exception of I'll Get Along, are available on iTunes. Home Again is the new single, which you can buy via this link.

If you want to know more, here's my interview with Michael on the BBC News site.

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Michael Kiwanuka is spellbinding

I was lucky enough to catch up with Michael Kiwanuka for a quick chat yesterday, just before he made his debut performance on Later... With Jools Holland. His biggest concern was not the performance, or the pressure of appearing after Bjork (who was suitably mental). No, he was worried that Jools would get his name wrong. Apparently, teachers used to call him all sorts of things, from Michael Kawasaki to Michael Kenkenkenken.

Luckily, Jools had been practising in his dressing room and the public were correctly introduced to an incredible young artist. I swear, he is practising actual magic in this performance. Simply stunning.

Michael Kiwanuka - I'm Getting Ready (Later performance)


If you tune in to the main edition of Later, this Friday night, Michael will pop up again doing an entirely different tune. My advice: record it and skip through the Red Hot Chili Peppers to get to the good bit.

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Michael Kiwanuka: In his own words

24-year-old Michael Kiwanuka is my favourite new artist of the year. You might not have heard of him, but I suspect that's only because no-one has worked out how to pronounce his name yet (hint: it's Key-wahn-oo-ka, or key wanker if you're being lazy).

The Londoner started off as a session musician, lending his talents to the likes of Labrinth before striking out on his own. Musically, he's a relic from a bygone era, when men had polyester pants and ladies had big perms and the big perms were flammable. It's smoky, bluesy soul - the kind of thing Starsky and Hutch would have played on their 8-track when they were in "romance mode".

He's already released two stunning EPs this year and a third is planned for the first week in January - when he will no doubt be nestling near the top of those "critics' choice" tipsheets.

The lead track from the EP is called Home Again, and it sounds like this.

Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again


Lovely, eh?

With those two early EPs under his belt, Kiwanuka has already been feted by the great and the good of the music press. And also some blogs. So, to save you the bother, here's what you can learn about his music, his upbringing and his inspirations with a quick spot of Googling.

"I didn't intend for my voice to sound old. I guess I'm just lucky."
[Channel 4]

"I thought maybe I could be a songwriter for people... but I realised that if you haven't sung any songs, no one's gonna know you're a songwriter."
[The Stool Pigeon]

"I was at Glastonbury the year Jay-Z played and I didn't have a tent. I would not recommend doing that."
[NME]

"When I was working as a session musician, [people] thought it was weird that I was black and playing music that sounded like folk. The reason why I really dig Bill Withers is because he encapsulates that. To me his music sounds like folk music. He's labelled a soul artist, which he is, but to me that's the same sound as a Dylan record or Joni Mitchell record. So he's a big influence."
[Fraff - this is a great interview, by the way. Read it all if you can.]

"My brother and I broke our record player when we were very young, so we had no music until we were, like, 12. We were fighting. I remember his head hitting the needle."
[Radio 2]

"I spent about a month in March and April just doing support slots for Adele in the UK. I've never been on tour before, so everything was brand new, you know, exciting and scary. I loved all the long drives, that I'm sure as I tour more, I'll begin to hate. All the gigs were quite small for her, but seemed huge to me."
[Quit Mumbling]

"I'm going to get the tube home after The Killers."
[Absolute Radio - backstage at Hard Rock Calling]

Seems like a nice kid. His first singles, Tell Me A Tale and I'm Getting Ready are up on iTunes. Buy them and listen to them round a log fire this Christmas. You won't be disappointed.

Michael Kiwanuka - I'm Getting Ready (live acoustic)

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Michael Kiwanuka - simply lovely

Adele's support act Michael Kiwanuka had me drawing wild comparisons to Marvin Gaye and Al Green with his last single Tell Me A Tale. For once, the hyperbole was justified - the song has been on permanent rotation in Discopop Towers for three months. Better still, Michael's next single is equally sublime.

Here's I'm Getting Ready, out in September on Communion Records. Its finger-plucked beauty will ease any pain you feel with no harmful side effects.

Michael Kiwanuka - I'm Getting Ready

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Yes, this song by Michael Kiwanuka sounds like it was recorded in the blistering heat of a 1970s ghetto but in fact it was made just yesterday* in the Isle Of Wight

Here's the sum total what I know about Michael Kiwanuka: He's from North London. He's 23. He's supported Adele on tour.

His new single, Tell Me A Tale, is allegedly a brand new recording, but I'd be willing to bet he found it down the back of Bill Withers' sofa, and is now trying to pass off as his own work. It's just too authentically rootsy to be a product of the 21st century.

But amazingly, somehow, Michael has managed to replicate the compressed, analogue recording techniques of Donny Hathaway and Bobby Womack: The vocals are too hot; the drums are mixed with casual disregard; the brass section is apparently punching its way out of a cardboard box.

There is also a flute.

In summary, this record is a marvel of modern soul. It deserves to be a hit, even though it won't be. It is unashamedly brilliant. It literally sounds dusty. (I have had some beer).

Michael Kiwanuka - Tell Me A Tale


Here is a link to Michael's website and the single on iTunes.

*Or maybe a few days before that

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