Michael Kiwanuka releases a new album tomorrow - Small Changes, which is the follow up to the Mercury Prize winning Kiwanuka – and he’s been talking to NME about what needs to be done to support a live scene which, whilst undeniably thriving at the top end, is struggling at its grassroots.”
“We need funding for small, grassroots venues to come back and create more of an infrastructure for artists to build their trade,” the musician said. “Also, we need to create more places to go and see music for a lower price to get people back into going to shows...and maybe join the EU again.”
Kiwanuka said he sympathised with fans during tough times like these. “Your fans give you so much, stick with you, wait five years for an album, buy merch. (They do this) in a hard time. They buy tickets that are expensive in a time when it’s hard to just get through the month. You wanna give them the best show possible, but the costs are so high that it’s difficult to do that.”
“It’s a case of finding some revenue from somewhere – maybe better cuts for the artists from Live Nation and some of the bigger companies. They’ve got a lot of money coming in. (They could give) grants and funding and tour supports for artists and to reinvest into small venues. That would be fantastic. I don’t know if that is the answer, because I’m not a politician, but there is money being made and it’s just being funneled somewhere. It needs someone to give back out to the people.”
He pointed out that it wasn’t a case of artists like him being greedy. “We never really do tours to make money. That’s why we do stupid things like have big productions and we lose it all, because that’s our time to connect with our fans who are the only reason we can do the best job in the world. We’re not trying to rip anyone off. (We) need better merchandising cuts for the artists – everything just needs to be better cuts – for the creatives and the independent businesses and venues.”
Elsewhere in the interview Kiwanuka talked about his teenage love of indie and what happened when he met one of his heroes, Graham Coxon, for the first time: “I met him at one of the African Express (Damon Albarn’s initiative to cross-pollinate music between African, Middle Eastern and Western countries) things. Blur did, like, three songs.
" There was an amazing moment when Damon Albarn turned up – he walks about like a town crier sort of guy. I walked into a pub upstairs and it was Paul Simonon playing bass with Slaves (now named Soft Play) Dave Rowntree and Graham Coxon walked in, sat next to me and just started chatting.
"I tried to play it cool, but in my head, I was like, ‘Oh my Gosh!’”
