Kiwanuka (album) explained

Kiwanuka
Type:	studio
Artist:	Michael Kiwanuka
Cover:	Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka.png
Length:	51:13
Prev Title:	Love & Hate
Prev Year:	2016

Kiwanuka is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka. It was released on 1 November 2019 through Polydor and Interscope Records.^[1] The album won the 2020 Mercury Prize,^[2] and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards.The opening track to this album was used by broadcaster ITV as its theme tune for its coverage of the Men's Football Euros 2020.

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Kiwanuka has a score of 89 out of 100 based on 21 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Dave Simpson of The Guardian hailed Kiwanuka as a "bold, expansive, heartfelt, sublime album" and one of the best of the decade, while Dorian Lynskey of Q called it a "compassionate, career-defining masterpiece". In her review for NME, Elizabeth Aubrey highlighted the personal nature of its lyrics, commending it as "a daring leap of self-affirmation." Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph described it as "an album in which a troubled spirit seeks the relief of music to mesmerising and charged effect."^[3] In a year-end essay for Slate, Ann Powers cited Kiwanuka as proof that the album format is not dead but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis", with artists such as Kiwanuka utilizing the concept album through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives, which in this case is a "song cycle alchemizing violence through compassion".^[4]

The album won the Mercury Prize 2020. It was the third time in his career he had been nominated following nominations for Home Again and Love & Hate but the first time he had won.

Accolades

Accolades for Kiwanuka

Publication	List	Rank
Afisha Daily (Russia)^[5]	The Best Foreign Albums of 2019
Albumism^[6]	The 50 Best Albums of 2019
AllMusic^[7]	Best of 2019
American Songwriter^[8]	Top 25 Albums (and 25 More That We Loved) of 2019
BBC Radio 6 Music^[9]	Albums Of The Year 2019
Chicago Tribune^[10]	Best rock-pop-rap albums of 2019
Clash^[11]	Albums Of The Year 2019
Double J^[12]	The 50 best albums of 2019
The Economist^[13]	The best albums of 2019
Gigwise^[14]	51 Best Albums of 2019
God Is in the TV^[15]	GIITTV Album Of The Year Poll Results 2019
Good Morning America^[16]	50 of the best albums of 2019
The Guardian^[17]	The 50 best albums of 2019
Houston Chronicle^[18]	Andrew Dansby's albums of 2019
The Independent^[19]	The 50 best albums of 2019
The Line of Best Fit^[20]	The Best Albums of 2019 Ranked
Mondo Sonoro (Spain)^[21]	The best international albums of 2019
musicOMH^[22]	Top 50 Albums Of 2019
The New York Times (Jon Pareles)^[23]	Top 50 Albums Of 2019
NME^[24]	The 50 best albums of 2019
No Ripcord^[25]	The 50 Best Albums of 2019
PopMatters^[26]	The 70 Best Albums of 2019
Under the Radar^[27]	Top 100 Albums of 2019

Personnel

Credits adapted from digital liner notes.

Musicians

• Michael Kiwanuka – vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, percussion, electric guitar, keyboards, organ, piano, synthesizer
  • Inflo – background vocals, drums, electric guitar, percussion, piano, vocals, organ, synthesizer, keyboards, programming Rosie Danvers – cello
  • Kadeem Clarke – keyboards, synthesizer, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano Danger Mouse – percussion and tambourine, electric guitar, programming, keyboards
• Nick Barr – viola
• Natalia Bonner – violin
• Zara Benyounes – violin
• Alecia Chakour – background vocals
• James Casey – background vocals
• Dizzy Daniel Moorehead – saxophone
• Jasmine Muhammed – background vocals
• LaDonna Harley Peters – background vocals
• Paul Boldeau – background vocals
• Saundra Williams – background vocals
• Yolanda Greaves – background vocals
• Bruce White – viola
• Anna Croad – violin
• Patrick Kiernan – violin
• Sally Jackson – violin
• Stephanie Cavey – violin
• Steve Morris – violin
• Bryony James – cello
  • Richard Pryce – double bass Jean Kelly – harp
• Emma Owens – viola
• Fiona Leggat – viola
• Deborah Widdup – violin
• Eleanor Mathieson – violin
• Ellie Stanford – violin
• Gillon Cameron – violin
• Hayley Pomfrett – violin
• Helen Hathorn – violin
• Kotono Sato – violin
• Chloe Vincent – flute
• Nathan Allen – percussion
• George Hogg – trumpet
• Jenny Sacha – violin
• Sarah Sexton – violin

Technical

• Danger Mouse – producer
  • Inflo – producer, mixer, recording engineer Matt Colton – mastering engineer
• Richard Woodcraft – mixer, assistant recording engineer, vocal engineer, recording engineer
• Kennie Takahashi – recording engineer, mixer
• Tom Campbell – recording engineer, assistant recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Kiwanuka

Chart (2019)	Peak position
French Albums (SNEP)^[28]	31
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[29]	79
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[30]	37
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[31]	27

Year-end charts

Annual chart performance for Kiwanuka

Chart	Year	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[32]	2019	170
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[33]	2020	86
UK Albums (OCC)^[34]	2020	92

Notes and References

1. Web site: Michael Kiwanuka Announces New Album. Pitchfork. Minsker. Evan. 13 August 2019. 25 October 2019.
2. Web site: And the winner of the #HyundaiMercuryPrize 2020 is... @michaelkiwanuka's #KIWANUKA. Twitter. 24 September 2020. 24 September 2020.
3. Web site: KIWANUKA, Michael Kiwanuka, review: a poignant interrogation of how much has changed since the civil rights era. The Daily Telegraph. McCormick. Neil. Neil McCormick. 18 October 2019. 16 July 2020. subscription.
4. Powers. Ann. Ann Powers. December 17, 2019. The album is evolving.. Slate. September 15, 2020.
5. Web site: Лучшие зарубежные альбомы 2019 года. The Best Foreign Albums of 2019. Afisha Daily. Овчинников. Николай. 26 December 2019. 6 February 2020.
6. Web site: ALBUMISM SELECTS: The 50 Best Albums of 2019. Albumism. 24 November 2019. 14 July 2020.
7. Web site: AllMusic Best of 2019. AllMusic. 14 July 2020.
8. Web site: Top 25 Albums (and 25 More That We Loved) of 2019. American Songwriter. 31 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
9. Web site: 6 Music Recommends Albums Of The Year 2019. BBC Radio 6 Music. 14 July 2020.
10. Web site: Best rock-pop-rap albums of 2019: Fierceness from Jamila Woods, blast furnace sounds from Sturgill Simpson. Chicago Tribune. Kot. Greg. Greg Kot. 3 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
11. Web site: Clash Albums Of The Year 2019. Clash. 18 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
12. Web site: The 50 best albums of 2019. Double J. ABC. 4 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
13. News: The best albums of 2019. The Economist. 16 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
14. Web site: Gigwise's 51 Best Albums of 2019. Gigwise. 20 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
15. Web site: GIITTV Album Of The Year Poll Results 2019. God Is in the TV. Etheridge. Loz. 17 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
16. Web site: 50 of the best albums of 2019. Good Morning America. Raible. Allan. 26 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
17. Web site: The 50 best albums of 2019: the full list. The Guardian. 20 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
18. News: Andrew Dansby's albums of 2019. Houston Chronicle. Dansby. Andrew. 23 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
19. Web site: The 50 best albums of 2019 – from Tyler, the Creator's IGOR to Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising. The Independent. 20 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
20. Web site: The Best Albums of 2019 Ranked. The Line of Best Fit. 20 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
21. Web site: Los mejores discos internacionales de 2019. The best international albums of 2019. Mondo Sonoro. 3 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
22. Web site: musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2019. musicOMH. Hubbard. Michael. 21 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
23. Web site: Best Albums of 2019. The New York Times. Pareles. Jon. Caramanica. Jon. Jon Pareles. Jon Caramanica. 5 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
24. Web site: The 50 best albums of 2019. NME. 16 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
25. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2019. No Ripcord. 17 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
26. Web site: The 70 Best Albums of 2019. PopMatters. 9 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
27. Web site: Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2019 (Part 1). Under the Radar. Redfern. Mark. 31 December 2019. 14 July 2020.
28. Web site: Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 45, 2019). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. French. 13 November 2019.
29. Web site: Album – Classifica settimanale WK 45 (dal 01.11.2019 al 07.11.2019). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Italian. 9 November 2019.
30. Web site: NZ Top 40 Albums Chart. Recorded Music NZ. 11 November 2019. 9 November 2019.
31. Web site: Top 100 Albumes – Semana 45: del 01.11.2019 al 07.11.2019. Productores de Música de España. Spanish. 13 November 2019.
32. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2019. Ultratop. 5 November 2020.
33. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2020. Ultratop. 18 December 2020.
34. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2020. Official Charts Company. 5 January 2021.