“It’s a huge compliment for me when there are people in other countries, in other languages, singing my lyrics and singing my songs,” says Rudd. Recent years have seen Rudd use his platform to share the benefits of mindfulness, while he is also a committed vegan and has worked with US animal rights charity Peta on more than one occasion, earning the accolade of Australia's Sexiest Vegetarian.Īll of this aside, ultimately it’s about connecting with his fans. He’s also a prolific environmentalist, having performed at rallies and demonstrations including 2014’s Bentley anti-gas blockade campsite. As an activist, Rudd champions the rights of indigenous Australians, carrying out vital work to raise awareness of Aboriginal culture and preserve his own Wurundjeri heritage. “Everything I wrote just had a sprinkle of magic dust on it,” he says of working with Chris Bond.īut there’s more to Xavier Rudd than making music: his peace-promoting messages travel way beyond the recording studio. A brave move, but one that ultimately served him well. Produced by Chris Bond (Ben Howard, Tom Speight) and mixed by Tim Palmer (Pearl Jam, Bowie, U2), it’s the first time Rudd has ever handed over the reigns completely to a producer. Storm Boy marks a landmark shift in the ARIA-nominated star’s working process. “I’ve had a great career of mucking around with different sounds… so every record you learn a little bit here and there,” says Rudd, whose new album tips its hat to his love of reggae and blues as much as it feels palpably more symphonic in sound than his previous LP, the collaborative Nanna. Hailing from Australia’s surf hotspot Torquay, Rudd kickstarted his career in 2002 with the now classic album To Let, before going on to release seven studio LPs over the next thirteen years: Solace (2004), Food In The Belly (2005), White Moth (2007), Dark Shades Of Blue (2008), Koonyum Sun (2010), Spirit Bird (2012), and his first album with The United Nations, Nanna (2015). I feel like I’ve come to the end of that chapter where I’ve learned a bunch of lessons and I’ve been shown a bunch of things spiritually.” “Life feels strong and solid for me now… and this record is in a different space.
And if Spirit Bird signalled the beginning of his spiritual self-awakening, Storm Boy arrives at the conclusion. “It’s definitely a theme on the record,” agrees Rudd. Storm Boy tracks the last five or six years of his journey, his “awakening” and of all the things that “have made sense” along the way.
Six years have passed since Rudd’s last solo release, Spirit Bird, and a lot of things have happened in that time. It’s a line where Rudd’s spirituality really comes to the fore: “Kookaburra calls just like he knows / And I call a ride back yes I’m home / He’s been with me he’s watched me grow / Through those rainy days and those rocky roads.” One specific moment seems to sum up the record for Rudd, an album which he describes as “pondering” and “more personal” than previous efforts. In the picture-perfect video for ‘Walk Away’, Rudd is captured swimming in lakes, catching the surf and strumming his guitar, while booming bass drums amp up the track’s near-transcendent quality. It’s just one of many highlights on a record that celebrates strength and stability at their most powerful and fundamental. Backed by the gentle strum of acoustic guitar, on ‘Storm Boy’, Rudd sends out a postcard of a sun-drenched life lived outdoors: “Freedom of the heart is what we crave / When we sit by the river with a cup of tea / Watch the movement of the tide in the gentle breeze,” he sings, in his comfort-blanket voice. The Australian multi-instrumentalist’s new album title track best encapsulates this idea. The result is a personal sound that strikes a universal note. Environmental work, activism, veganism, spiritualism, surfing, family camping trips in the bush and dog walks on the beach everything Rudd does, he pours into song. “I’m literally just singing about the things that are going on around me,” he says of his sublime and soaring indie-folk. For Xavier Rudd, writing music and living his life are one and the same.
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