Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate (2xLP)

Michael Kiwanuka had already conquered the international hit lists with his debut a good four years ago. In his home country Great Britain, the soul singer even landed at number four in the album charts. In 2016, "Love & Hate" is finally the long-awaited successor to "Home Again" (2012).

After promoting album number one around the globe for some time, Kiwanuka withdrew from the public eye for a while and spent about two years writing "Love & Hate". The result is ten new songs, which the singer recorded with none other than star producer Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse (Jay Z, The Black Keys, Beck, U2).

The singer already gave a first impression of the sound of the new album with the singles "Black Man In A White World" and the title track "Love & Hate". Both songs show that Michael Kiwanuka stays true to his mixture of soul, jazz, blues and folk on his new album, but here and there he moves a bit more in the direction of rock. The sound seems rougher overall, although the breathtakingly soulful voice of the singer is still clearly the focus of all tracks.

The second album shows whether an artist has the quality to survive in the highly competitive music world. "Love & Hate" leaves no doubt about that anymore. On the contrary: Michael Kiwanuka is the greatest soul voice this world currently has to offer.

"The English soul singer goes deep on his second album." (musikexpress, June 2016)

"Born in London in 1987, the singer once again manages to score with his warm voice." (Stereo, August 2016)

"The difficult second album masters soul-blues-folk latecomer Michael Kiwanuka with Love & Hate confident to bravura." (MINT No. 6, August 2016)

"Catchy retro soul with expression and class." (LP Magazine, 6 / 2016)