Londoner Michael Kiwanuka, who is only in his early twenties, was relatively unknown when he appeared on the stage of Into The Great Wide Open and in a small hall at the Songbird festival in 2011, but this summer the whole world will be at his feet. That's how fast things can go if your debut album blazes across the internet. On Home Again Kiwanuka interweaves soul with storytelling folk music in ten beautifully arranged songs. He delivers music that puts him in the company of Bill Withers, Randy Newman and Otis Redding. Not the least to be compared with. Yet Kiwanuka is more than just a modern-day Marvin Gaye, because his arrangements carry the traits of musical omnivorism and his songs have the quality of modern craftsmanship that makes his music so up-to-date. It's for this good reason that a panel of music critics and industry figures selected Kiwanuka as the winner of the BBC's Sound Of 2012.
