Michael Kiwanuka's new album 'Fudge' arrives October 23 on Polydor Records, carrying a weight its creator could not have anticipated when he made it. The record was self-produced in a studio near his Southampton home with longtime collaborators, completed before a haemorrhagic stroke last summer changed the trajectory of his life and career.
The Mercury Prize-winning singer-songwriter, then 38, suffered the stroke as a result of undiagnosed high blood pressure. He underwent emergency surgery, spent months in intensive care and has continued rehabilitation at a medical centre in Hampshire, where he remains. The health crisis forced the cancellation of his live shows last summer and was followed by a long public silence.
Kiwanuka has since spoken about his reasons for returning to the public eye. «I want to tell people why I haven't been around,» he said in a recent interview. «Everyone can relate to pain and struggle. That's one thing all humans have in common. So I'm just sharing mine with the world.»
Musically, 'Fudge' traces a continuous line from his 2024 album 'Small Changes.' The muted, rumbling rhythm sections, warm guitar tones, grounding basslines and strings that cut through soft soulfulness remain intact, all held together by the rich, humble voice that has defined his work. The album's bright, bubblegum visual identity signals a drive for playfulness and experimentation, a spirit that shaped the sessions.
Those sessions drew on a trusted circle. Multi-instrumentalist Joe Connell was among the core collaborators, while producer Dom Monks, known for work with Laura Marling and Big Thief, and longstanding strings collaborator Rosie Danvers, who has worked with Adele and Coldplay, made valuable contributions later in the process.
Knowing what came after the recordings makes certain moments land differently. Kiwanuka has struggled to retrain his vocal cords after his breathing and speech were affected by stroke-induced brain damage, a revelation that lends greater emotional heft to the spacious chorus of the penultimate track 'Sing': «We're nowhere if we never sing / Sing / Sing.»
His vocals have always found beauty in a tendency to waver and show fragility, and that quality peaks on 'California,' where he sings «I need love, love, love, to take me home / I've been gone, gone, gone for way too long.» The melancholic tone resonates deeply at a time when illness continues to block his creative output.
Elsewhere, the album's arrangements carry their own sense of drama. At the climax of 'Drowning in Your Heart,' a haywire violin twists and extinguishes like the uncomfortable conclusion to a chapter slammed shut. On 'Love In My Heart,' space-traversing synths, crashing cymbals and fuzzy, virtuosic guitar showcase his revered penchant for grand, epic sonic progressions, though the track's long, pensive piano outro suggests a retreat away from the fire.
Given the uncertainty around his future musical possibilities, 'Fudge' stands as both an unexpected gift and a deeply poignant glimpse at the creative state of an artist just before a life-altering moment. It is a record made by a man on the precipice of unforeseen tragedy, and one that invites listeners to be reminded how lucky they are to have an artist like Kiwanuka.