The singer details the stroke that pushed back his fifth album by nearly a year, and returns with a self-produced record shaped by live jams and single takes.
Michael Kiwanuka has set a 23 October release date for his fifth album, ‘FUDGE’, via Polydor Records. The announcement comes after an extended delay: the record was held back for almost a year while Kiwanuka recovered from a stroke caused by high blood pressure. He addressed the health scare directly with fans in an Instagram post, confirming the album now arrives with his full support behind it.
The album marks a return to self-production for the first time since his 2012 debut, ‘Home Again’. Work began in a small studio near his Southampton home with multi-instrumentalist Joe Connell, before Kiwanuka brought in producer Dom Monks and longtime strings collaborator Rosie Danvers. The material was initially developed alongside 2024’s ‘Small Changes’, but gradually separated into its own project.
Kiwanuka describes ‘FUDGE’ as more playful and instinctive than what came before, with songs often built from live jams and single takes. That looseness follows a period of larger shifts: a Mercury Prize, two children, and what he has framed as a new sense of self-confidence. His live commitments remain on hold indefinitely.
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