Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
Singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka has shared “Summer Clothes,” a new single off the artist’s upcoming fifth studio album FUDGE, as Northern Transmissions reports.Dropping just ahead of the album’s release later this month, “Summer Clothes” is the artist’s first release since he started facing health struggles last year. A video for the single was also shared, which can be found on Kiwanuka’s YouTube channel.
The track found inspiration in an interview with late jazz pianist Chick Corea, a quote from which is directly sampled at the start of the video. “You have to learn to be certain about what you like, not what you think sounds good to someone else,” Corea says. “Whatever you think is beautiful, that’s what’s beautiful, and you have to pursue that.”
The video is directed by Yout, and it’s description further elaborates on it’s inspiration. “Summer Clothes was directed by Yout,” it reads, “and inspired by what Michael sees as the quiet beauty of people finding creativity in the everyday, particularly the local tailors in Southampton – and by the creativity that can exist within a moment that might otherwise seem ordinary. It acts as a personal celebration of the instinct to make, create, and to find beauty in the world around us.”
The theme of tailors can be seen in the video itself, starting with a shot of a sewing needle. As the song begins with dreamy instrumentals and soft vocals from Kiwanuka, we see a young boy dressed in a suit alongside his family. Ambient shots focus on and tell the story of boy and the rest of his family, including showing the boy’s own experimentation in sewing and creating.
FUDGE is set for an October 23rd release date. It was written almost concurrently with 2024’s Small Changes and recorded in early 2025, with it’s release left pending for nearly a year due to Kiwanuka’s health struggles following stroke.
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