“And a bit of me can go in the ocean,” he laughs.Unknowing the journey on which we were about to embark, enthusiastic fans filled the historic El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12th to celebrate the highly anticipated release of new music from Bobby Alu and Xavier Rudd. “I think I’d like to be cremated and be near a ghost gum so that I can come out through the tree and my grandkids can climb on me.”Ī pause. Given Rudd’s connection with land, it comes as little surprise that he has already given some thought to his final resting place. That’s huge and much better than being given an award.” “The biggest compliment is when people say they’ve used my music in a special time in their lives, like a death or marriage, or when they have a newborn. It’s a chance to reconnect with his Australian audiences and to relive a lifetime of stories. Since May, Rudd has toured internationally to promote Storm Boy, a tour due to wind down in Perth at the end of the year. I’m hugely interested in ancestry and fascinated by people’s stories.” I also see the tough traits of the Irish in my family – they’re battlers who work hard. “And I notice family traits in Dutch people.
I do really well in Holland and had a number one single there so I think my grandfather is looking over me in that country. I’m learning about my convict heritage and the colourful journeys of my ancestors. “I’m learning more about my heritage as we speak. His own melting pot heritage includes Indigenous ancestry, as well as Dutch, Irish and Scottish. It’s an ancient place and we’re lucky to be a part of it.”Īustralia’s Indigenous culture and the treatment of its First People are regularly explored by Rudd through his music, most recently in “Gather the Hands” from his long-awaited ninth album, Storm Boy. We’re all part of this country and deserve to understand beyond just the beauty of it. “One thing we’re not taught in school is that the spirit of this country passes through everybody and we all feel and identify with that in different ways. I miss the smell of the country and its birdsongs.
“Even now, I crave the ocean, the sun, the feeling of the ground and its heat and dryness. I had six brothers so it was always busy and hectic and we’d light big fires to stay warm,” Rudd said. We went camping and surfing a lot and loved being outside, mucking around with the dogs. “When I was a kid, it was a fairly small town. “Life was outside a lot of the time because we grew up in the bush at the back of Jan Juc. Growing up in Jan Juc near Tor-quay in Victoria, Rudd’s early years were spent in nature. “It’s an ancient place and we’re lucky to be a part of it.”ĭrawing inspiration from socially-conscious contemporaries such as Ben Harper and Natalie Merchant, his songs have consistently touched upon themes of freedom, religion, sustain-ability, equality and spirituality.įollow The Sun, from the album Spirit Bird, hit Triple J’s Hottest 100 list in 2012, propelling Rudd to a wider audience.īut as a United Nations partner, an adopted member of the Dhuwa mob in north-east Arnhem Land and a passionate supporter of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Rudd has never really taken a mainstream route. Rudd has found an avid audience for his highly personal music since the mid-nineties. But that’s the thing that inspires me – I write about the things I see and what I feel.” It’s just human nature to do it if you haven’t been anywhere else.
Some people take it for granted, but it’s no one’s fault. “I’ve seen all sorts of other living circumstances and we’re just so lucky to come from Australia. I love travelling and seeing different parts of the world, but I’m very connected to country back here. “Whenever I leave Australia, there’s always a part of me that doesn’t come.
“I write a lot about appreciating home,” Rudd concedes. For a man who has spent the past two decades touring the globe with his music, Australia is never too far from Xavier Rudd’s thoughts – or from his notebook.
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