KCRW Exclusive: Michael Kiwanuka’s “It Always Comes Back Around” from House of Lies Season 3 Finale
Rarely have I seen an artist grow in stature at KCRW faster than Michael Kiwanuka. After only a couple of EPs releases, Michael was handpicked by Adele to open her…
By Chris Douridas • • 2 min readPhoto by Sal Ochoa
Rarely have I seen an artist grow in stature at KCRW faster than Michael Kiwanuka.
After only a couple of EPs releases, Michael was handpicked by Adele to open her US dates in 2011, that were subsequently cancelled due to her vocal chord issues.
Eventually, Michael made his way to the US in December of that year and made his U.S. radio performance debut at KCRW, followed by an appearance on the station’s SXSW showcase.
As a music supervisor working on Showtime’s “House of Lies”, my goal has been to use songs that would allow the viewer a way into the heart of main character Marty Kaan, played by Don Cheadle.
From the beginning, the best person in my mind to do this effectively was Michael Kiwanuka. We just needed the right scene.
Working on the Season 3 finale, there was a scene featuring a stunning performance by Cheadle, that begged for a song with heart.
Immediately i looked into Kiwanuka’s schedule and, to my shock, found out he was not at home in the UK, but playing later that week at Hotel Cafe.
A few days later, I went down to the studio with House of Lies creator Matt Carnahan and showed Michael and Black Keys’ bassist Gus Seyffert. the scene. Michael found the challenge inspiring. They were going to have a go at it. The happenstance was electrifying.
We had about a week before the mix. Michael told me he’d have something in a few days.
While at Sundance, I got an email from Michael and Gus late one night. I was sitting at the dining room table with Jason Bentley at our Park City rental, and I played the song on my laptop. After it finished, I played it again, this time against the scene with Cheadle on my laptop, and the result was astonishing.
Jason asked if we could premiere it the next day on MBE, which we did. Now the song –“It Always Comes Back Around” -is here for you to enjoy.
Stream: “It Always Comes Back Around”
Thank you, Michael!
Chris Douridas
ps. Tracklisting for our first ever soundtrack release for the show (due in stores digitally this Tuesday) is below!
House of Lies OST
(due March 4th on Capitol Records)
Gary Clark, Jr. “Bright Lights”
Isaac Delusion “Midnight Sun”
Kim Cesarion “Brains Out”
Thomas Dybdahl “This Love is Here to Stay”
Aloe Blacc “Take Me Back”
Fat Freddy’s Drop “Clean the House”
Basecamp “Smoke Filled Lungs”
James Hunter 6 “Heartbeat”
Count Basie “Belly Roll”
Kiko King and creativemaze “Illusions of Time”
N*Grandjean “Shift to Reverse”
Michael Kiwanuka “It Always Comes Back Around”