A composite liquid deposition approach merging the concepts of solution and particle-based coating for multinary chalcogenide materials is demonstrated. Photovoltaic absorbers based on earth-abundant Cu-Zn-Sn-S-Se kesterites show exceptional phase purity and are incorporated into solar cells with power conversion efficiency above 9.6%, bringing the state of the art of kesterite photovoltaic materials to a level suitable for possible commercialization.