I'm active - I like playing football, but I'm not very good. I like running, but I'm not really fast. Michael Kiwanuka More Quotes by Michael Kiwanuka More Quotes From Michael Kiwanuka You always have in the back of your mind that would be cool if you get recognized. But you can't concentrate on any of those things. You've got to just keep playing and doing your music and the rest is just a bonus. Michael Kiwanuka bonus would-be mind I had a lovely time growing up. Michael Kiwanuka lovely growing growing-up I like a lot of soul, but I also put a lot of folk into what I do. Michael Kiwanuka folks soul Bill Withers, Van Morrison and Marvin Gaye are pioneers in popular music for the last century, and these are people who have influenced me as well, so it's pretty flattering. I've got a long way to go to reach anywhere near what those guys have done. But it's a good encouragement. Michael Kiwanuka encouragement long people I love grooves and dance music, but I like the feeling behind songs too. Michael Kiwanuka groove feelings song I love making music so its important for me to keep doing that even if the schedule is busy. Michael Kiwanuka schedules important busy Ive been more single than not in my short life. Michael Kiwanuka short-life Listening to a lot of guitar rock and roll music and feeling quite eccentric because everyone expected me to learn and develop like R&B. This kind of made me feel a little bit better, because I realized it was all the same, you know. There's no difference. It's just music. Michael Kiwanuka kind listening feelings I think I skipped a lot of music, like when I was 17 or 18. I didnt know about a lot of new bands because I was so immersed in older music. Michael Kiwanuka band knows thinking My idea of home is not necessarily a place. Michael Kiwanuka home ideas The main thing in making your own music is that it's an expression of someone's personality and being. That's what people want to hear, and you can't really teach that - that's just something that comes out. Teaching just hones that. Michael Kiwanuka teaching expression people Finding out that Ray Charles sang country songs but it sounded as soulful as any rhythm and blues record that kind of opened up my horizons for what songwriting was and what singers I could listen to. Michael Kiwanuka kind song country Jimi Hendrix came on TV on this documentary and it was this African-American soulful black guy, playing an electric guitar, which I'd just started. And it just blew my head off. I had like an afro at the time, too. It was a bit all over the place. And it wasn't a thing to have an afro. No, that's kind of quite old school. You're supposed to have like a neatly cut shaped up haircut. Michael Kiwanuka cutting guy school By that point, I was about 12, 13 years old. I was this young black kid into rock music, which was kind of strange. People would always assume I'd be into like more modern R&B, which is a stereotype, but that was kind of what was expected. And I had all these guitar magazines of all these musicians that didn't look like me. So I assumed Jimmi Hendrix was one of those. Michael Kiwanuka black kids people With writing music and writing songs and recording music and coming up with stuff, you need to kind of reengage that kind of inner child to come up with interesting perceptions. Michael Kiwanuka writing song children I remember listening to like gospel-y blues tunes. I'd just listen to the rhythm and the music was upbeat. Always upbeat if you get like a good rhythm you can nod your head. You just feel good. But then when you listen to the lyrics it was quite sad. Michael Kiwanuka feel-good listening remember The worst thing for a singer/songwriter is to run out of songs. Michael Kiwanuka singers running song It's quite hard not to cringe at your own music; you're always a bit annoyed at some parts of it. Michael Kiwanuka bits hard annoyed I had an opportunity to make an album - that was a dream come true. I had to make sure that I could do it the best way I could, and at least at the end of it be very pleased with it and not regret anything. So that took a lot of concentration. Being isolated really helps with that. Michael Kiwanuka regret dream opportunity It's annoying when you've got a guitar and you're working on music and then you have to go and do the shopping or someone calls your mobile and you get distracted or you have to go out and do something. So it's nice to just concentrate on it one hundred percent and give your all to it. Michael Kiwanuka shopping guitar nice
