“Civil rights still seems current…”
Michael Kiwanuka speaks to Stevie Chick.
Love & Hate sprang from a crisis of confidence. Did Kiwanuka come from a less traumatic place?
“I definitely went into this one with more of a confidence in who I am and what my place in music is – I felt more comfortable in myself and what I’m trying to do as an artist. There wasn’t the self-doubt. The response Love & Hate got taught me to trust in myself a little more, to focus on my creativity, to express who I am – that’s the anchor.”
The songs are threaded together with interstitial tracks, which include voices from the civil rights movements and the “sit-ins” of the ’60s…
“I wanted there to be no gaps between the songs, for it to be filled with music or ideas the whole way through, to help the listener escape their reality. What’s Going On is still my favourite album of all time, and it feels like that – it’s almost like you wake up at the end of the record from some kind of a dream. As for the deeper context… What people were talking about 50 years or so ago about civil rights still seems really current now.”
I’ve Been Dazed has a wonderful gospel vibe. Do you believe in God? Are you spiritual?
“I’m definitely a spiritual person. I believe in God, it’s a large part of my life. A lot of the music that influenced me has a spiritual element. I believe that’s what music expresses, whatever music you make – it takes you to somewhere outside of your body. To me, that’s a higher thing – that’s ‘god’, and other people might call it ‘the universe’. We’re all calling the same thing a lot of different things, if you see what I mean. I love my music to reflect that, and it will always express my upbringing. Gospel is a part of that, as well as rock’n’roll, soul, jazz…”
Why call the album “Kiwanuka”?
“It was me saying, ‘I’m finally accepting who I am, whatever that means.’ On Hero, I sing, ‘I won’t change my name, no matter what they call me,’ because when I first started in the business, there was a big conversation over my name – people were, like, ‘No one can pronounce your name, what are you going to call yourself?’ And all my favourite artists – Dylan, Bowie – changed their names. And I guess I’m ‘anti’ that – anti-alter egos, anti-‘Ziggy Stardust’, anti-‘Sasha Fierce’, anti-‘Bob Dylan’… I want to represent people who are just themselves, and that’s enough.”