Fudge

About

For the self-produced <i>FUDGE</i>, <b>Michael Kiwanuka</b> quite clearly set out with one mission in mind: to make the music he loves. The first words we hear on opening track <b>“Summer Clothes”</b> aren’t Kiwanuka’s, in fact, but a recording of jazz legend Chick Corea saying exactly this: “What music is about... is creating the kind of things that you think are beautiful.” <i>FUDGE</i> is a tender, considered offering of art for the sake of it, a tribute to his own definition of beauty that never veers into selfish or self-serving songwriting. Kiwanuka savors each strum and softly-padded drumbeat, and even the friction from discordant moments or clashing notes (<b>“You Sent Me Flying”</b>) never feels out of tune or place. Half of <i>FUDGE</i>‘s tracks clock in at five minutes or over, which invites the listener to stretch out with languid, slow-building meditations (<b>“Love in My Heart”</b>), hushed confessions of love (<b>“Sing”</b>), or dusky, panoramic instrumentals (like <b>“Steve’s Paradise,”</b> in which Kiwanuka’s voice is a sparse presence—we don’t hear him until about halfway through—giving the organ, sliding guitar, and backing harmonies to take the lead). <i>FUDGE</i> is a tribute to taking your time.

via Apple Music