Growing up Rudd learned to play the guitar, clarinet and saxophone however sought ways to overlap and interweave various instruments at once. These skills were honed and expanded on during his years travelling and busking.
The list of instruments Rudd is able to play cannot be counted on a single pair of hands, from Weissenborn slide guitars and banjos, to harmonicas and Aztec Organettes, the Australian musician’s set up surrounds him with the capacity for sound. Rudd has also perfected the art of circular breathing on the didgeridoo, often seen with jazz musicians, he is able to produce a singular drone sound that never falters.
Rudd’s first recording titled “Live in Canada” was released independently in 2001 and made way for his debut studio album “To Let” in 2002. His sophomore released named “Solace” saw Rudd’s introduction to the Australian music chart debuting at No. 13 and became a platinum selling album, due to distribution via Universal Records Australia. Becoming more well know Rudd toured with Jack Johnson and G. Love & Special Sauce and later released the live album “Good Spirit” and the Studio album “Food in the Belly” in 2005.
Rudd is widely known and appreciated on the festival circuits in Australia and Canada, and is equally appreciated in both countries for his socially conscious lyrics often regarding the mistreatment of aboriginals. Rudd’s 2007 tour in support of his 2007 album “White Moth” was lauded by critics for being entirely carbon-neutral and the album introduced darker themes which are observable in his follow-up “Dark Shades of Blue” in 2008. 2010 brought a new album and a new band to fit including bassist Tio Moloantoa and percussionist Andile Nqubezelo.
When I first saw Xavier Rudd I had no idea what to expect, he was largely unknown to me. I was travelling ‘down under’ at the time and had heard his name banded around but was yet to hear what all the fuss was about. Me and some friends had tickets to see Jack Jackson in Byron Bay and luckily he was the support, and what a support! To say he's a multi-instrumentalist is an understatement! He is a complete one man band, he sat on stage hid behind an array of instruments, a drum kit, extra percussion instruments, a number of guitars and didgeridoos. He is also a great songwriter, many of his songs had a theme of spirituality, peace, nature running through them, kind of a modern ‘hippy’ feel to them. But all were catchy and I found myself hearing them in my head in the days following, especially the tracks like ‘Solace,' and ‘Let me Be’! He has kept this message in his general style as well, by using the didgeridoo in most of the tracks and through the use of aboriginal sample harmonies he's able to give the tracks a distinctive and earthy feel. He was also quite the performer, at one point he went bouncing round the stage with his didgeridoo and address the audience throughout with a confident and entertaining manner.
All in all a great show, one that took me back. A must see!
aaron-perrins
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