Michael Kiwanuka announces new album ‘FUDGE’ after suffering stroke: “I’ve been battling some health

Michael Kiwanuka has announced a new album called ‘FUDGE’ while revealing that he suffered a stroke earlier this year and is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

• READ MORE: Michael Kiwanuka – ‘Small Changes’ review: a homely, life-affirming listen.

Kiwanuka revelou que sofreu um AVC há alguns meses, após um sangramento cerebral, que ele afirmou ter sido causado pela pressão alta.

Ele explicou que a lesão cerebral resultante foi “bastante grave” e que ainda enfrenta uma reabilitação significativa antes de poder contemplar um retorno à turnê.

Kiwanuka also thanked NHS staff and the medical professionals who have cared for him throughout his recovery, as well as his friends, family and team.

He said he remains unsure when he will be able to return to the road or what performing will look like when he does, but told fans that he was looking forward to seeing them “further down the road”.

The announcement sheds new light on Kiwanuka’s decision to cancel all of his remaining live shows last summer.

At the time, his team said that “continued illness” and advice from doctors meant he would be unable to perform at a number of planned festival appearances, including All Together Now, Sziget, Pukkelpop, We Out Here and Victorious.

He was also forced to pull out of a run of North American shows supporting Mumford & Sons.

It will follow his fourth album ‘Small Changes’, which arrived in November 2024 and saw him reunite with longtime collaborators Danger Mouse and Inflo.

Speaking to NME around the release of the album, Kiwanuka described the record as a deliberately more understated response to the expansive sound of its predecessor.

In a four-star review of ‘Small Changes’, NME praised its “heartfelt soul music” and wrote that “the softness of its approach does nothing to lessen the impact of Kiwanuka’s long-awaited return”.

Seu álbum anterior, “KIWANUKA” de 2019, acabou vencendo o Mercury Prize em 2020.

More recently, Kiwanuka appeared on the title track of Little Simz’s 2025 album ‘Lotus’, alongside Yussef Dayes.

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