I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED THAT OUR NEXT GUEST IS HERE ON
THE SHOW, HE IS AN INCREDIBLE SINGER-SONGWRITER, WHOSE
STUNNING SELF TITLED ALBUM IS GRAMMY NOMINATED FOR BEST ROCK
ALBUM.
PLEASE WELCOME THE INCREDIBLE MICHAEL KIWANUKA TO THE SHOW.
MICHAEL, I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU ARE HERE.
I'M SO HAPPY YOU ARE HERE.
IT IS SO LOVELY TO SEE YOU, YOU KNOW WHAT A FAN I AM OF YOURS.
HAVE I BEEN A FAN SINCE THE VERY FIRST ALBUM.
AND HOW ARE YOU?
WHERE ARE YOU IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW?
>> YEAH, I'M FINE THANKS.
THANKS FOR HAVING ME, MAN.
I'M IN THE U.K I'M AT HOME AND GETTING THROUGH
LOCKDOWN, TRYING TO GET THROUGH LOCKDOWN, YOU PICKED ME UP BY
LETTING ME HANG OUT.
>> James: CAN I NOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH THIS ALBUM MEANS TO ME,
THIS ALBUM KIWANUKA, IT WON THE PERK REE MUSIC PRIZE AT HOME,
NOMINATED FOR YOUR FIRST GRAMMY.
IT HAS BEEN CALLED ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE IN
COUNTLESS REVIEWS, HOW DOES IT FEEL FOR YOU TO BE GETTING THIS
SORT OF RECOGNITION RIGHT NOW?
>> YEAH, MAN T FEELS INCREDIBLE, MAN, I MEAN YEAH, LIKE, WE MET
MAYBE TEN YEARS AGO COMING UP.
>> James: YEAH, 2012.
>> 2012, MAN.
AND SO IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A DREAM TO BE A SINGER, AN ARTIST AND BE
AWARDED THE MERCURY, TO BE NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY, THESE
ARE THE THINGS THAT WE DREAM ABOUT GROWING UP.
SO IT IS HARD TO PUT INTO WORDS FOR WHAT IT MEANS.
I FEEL SO BLESSED.
SO LUCKY.
>> James: WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS ALBUM IS IN A WORLD OF
SCREAMING AND SHUFFLES-- STREAMS AND SHUFFLES AND SINGLES, THIS
IS AN ALBUM THAT REALLY IS GREAT BUT LISTENED TO STRAIGHT THROUGH
FROM BEGINNING TO END, EACH TRACK ALMOST KIND OF BLEEDS INTO
THE NEXT.
WHY WAS THAT IMPORTANT FOR YOU?
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE A RECORD THAT VERY MUCH HAS A
BEGINNING, A MIDDLE AND AN END.
>> YEAH.
WELL, IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME.
AT THE TIME OF MAKING THIS RECORD, BEFORE LOCKDOWN AND US
HAVING MORE TIME ON OUR HANDS, SOME OF US HAVE MORE TIME ON OUR
HANDS.
I JUST KNEW HOW MUCH I LOVED MUSIC.
SO I JUST THOUGHT MUSIC OR ANY TYPE OF ART ALLOWS US TO TAKE US
OUT OF OUR OWN MIND AND OUR OWN WORLD AND HEAD SPACE.
JUST FOR A LITTLE BIT TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND FEEL LIKE WE
CAN TACKLE WHATEVER WE NEED TO TACKLE IN THE DAY.
KIND OF LUKE A THERAPY.
IT IS GOOD FOR YOU, SO I THOUGHT I WANTED TO MAKE A RECORD THAT
WOULD SLOW SOMEONE DOWN SO THERE IS NO CHOICE, THAT ONCE YOU PUT
THE NEEDLE DUNE OR ON VINYL, SPOTIFY, OR WHATEVER, STREAMING,
YOU JUST FORGET THAT THE TRACK HASN'T FINISHED.
YOU STAY INTO THAT WORLD, I'M TRYING TO CREATE, AND MAYBE IT
MIGHT HELP YOU SLOW DOWN OR CAUGHT UP WITH THE SPEED OF
LIFE.
SO MUSIC SO SO IMPORTANT, SO STRONG I JUST FEEL LIKE, YOU
COULD ALL DO LISTEN TO THUS AMIC.
>> James: I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE YOU
FILMED FOR TONIGHT.
YOU SHOT THIS AT YOUR SECONDARY SCHOOL, IN NORTH LONDON.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE GOING BACK TO SCHOOL TO SHOOT THIS
PERFORMANCE?
IT WAS COOL, IN SCHOOL I HAD, THAT IS KIND OF WHERE, I WAS
LUCKY TO HAVE, I HAD A GOOD TIME IN SCHOOL.
SCHOOL CAN BE TOUGH FOR SOME PEOPLE AS WELL BECAUSE SCHOOL
CAN BE ROUGH.
BUT FOR ME BUS I FOUND MUSIC IN SCHOOL, I LOVED IT.
AND THEN IT WAS WHERE I DISCOVERED I WANTED TO BE A MUS
ITIONZ AND TO BE A SINGER AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS START
BUBBLING.
I HAD A BAND IN SCHOOL, AND MY FIRST PERFORMANCE WAS IN THAT
SAME HALL.
>> James: REALLY.
>> TO GO BACK.
>> James: SO THE FIRST TIME THAT YOU EVER PERFORMED IN THE
VERY ROOM THAT YOU SENT YOUR POMPLEANCE IN FOR TONIGHT.
>> YES, EXACTLY.
I PLAYED MY ACOUSTIC AND I PLAYED A COVER OF ERIC CLAPTON'S
TEARS IN HEAVEN.
AND I WAS TERRIFIED.
I NEVER SANG IN PUBLIC IT WENT WELL AND SOME OF MY SCHOOL
FRIENDS, PEOPLE I NEVER EVEN SPOKE TO FOR YEARS OH YEAH, I
HEARD DO YOU THAT SONG, IT WAS ALL RIGHT.
BOY AT THAT POINT I WAS LIKE I WANT TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
SO I HAVE SOME GOOD MEMORIES.
>> James: WELL, THANK GOD YOU PICKED UP A GUITAR SIX THE WORLD
IS A BETTER PLACE FOR YOUR MUSIC.
AND THIS ALBUM AND THE SONG YOU ARE PLAYING TONIGHT ARE
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.
WHEN WE COME BACK, MICHAEL KIWANUKA IS PERFORMING ON THIS
SHOW.
YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS IT, COME ON BACK, EVERYBODY.