CityLife

Michael Kiwanuka

Ruby Lounge, Manchester

February 20, 2012

It’s 2012 and – if the news is to be believed – the earth is falling apart at its seams.

Every corner of the globe is apparently burning, or teetering on the edge of economic collapse, or some kind of apocalyptic hybrid of the two. So as they battle through riot and recession, it’s no wonder music lovers are seeking a few home comforts.

Step up Michael Kiwanuka. The 20-something Londoner is currently wooing the airwaves with the soulful Home Again, a single so full of old-fashioned charm it’s hard to know where to look.

Despite being barely off his singer-songwriting stabilisers, his vocals are already a woozy, funky, jazzy melting pot of some of the greatest, most genuinely enjoyable music ever written.

Frankly it would be churlish not to succumb. His caramel tones are currently everywhere, swirling through Britain’s zeitgeist like toffee through vanilla ice cream.

Like Amy Winehouse before him, Kiwanuka has a voice that swoons from another era – as she evoked Etta James or Ella Fitzgerald, so he is Otis Redding, Bill Withers or any number of Motown greats.

Along with Home Again – title track to the forthcoming album – the beguiling Tell Me a Tale, Worry Walks Beside Me and I’m Getting Ready all receive a rapturous response at the Ruby Lounge’s intimate setting.

Funk is woven into folk, blues melt into soul. As he tells the crowd at one point: “Really old funk music always does something to me.” It clearly does it to the crowd too.

Yet while he does an impeccable job of recreating that sound, he also walks a fine line between referencing and simply repeating – at points only staying on the right side of it due to his undoubtedly stunning voice.

Nevertheless, it can be wonderfully refreshing to go back to what you know. And, especially in the current climate, sometimes home is where the heart is.

Tweet