Over Memorial Day Weekend 2015, I had the rare opportunity to sit down with the one and only Xavier Rudd for a brief interview. Rudd performed a set at the acclaimed Summer Camp Music Festival at Three Sister’s Park in Chillicothe, IL. Rudd took some time out of his busy day to sit by a tree in the shade and discuss everything from his latest release to his favorite instrument:
So, you have been on an extensive tour for the past few months supporting your new album Nanna, how has the experience been so far?
It’s been amazing man; it’s been really interesting. You know, it’s a whole tribe of new people on the road.
In the past, you have usually done solo projects and tours. What has it been like touring with the United Nations?
It’s really been great, man. It’s a really good tribe of people that we’ve been traveling with; yeah it’s pretty powerful.
I had a chance to listen to the album before interviewing you and I have to say ‘Flag” is my favorite track. Do you have a favorite track on the new album?
Flag is pretty ancient for me, just because of the journey of that song and where it came through me. When I wrote this record it was like my spirit catapulted me through a few different power centers on the earth, two actually, one was Peru and one was Northwest Australia. I was doing a mud ceremony with a Shaman after a ceremony the night before, it was very powerful and as he was washing the mud off I started singing creation, “Ode to creation, spirit of the ancient” and that just resonated over and over and over for a week and then that song came through. Then I was up in Kimberley, Northwestern Australia and I was running down a really psychic aboriginal song line and I started to reflect on that and saw lots of colors, you know a rainbow serpent, as I was writing that story. So I joined those two as sort of one piece and yeah, it’s sort of the memories of the journey.
I know you play quite a few different instruments. Do you have a favorite?
Um, not really, no, everything I play I love, I just love making music. You know, I have my own style, everything I play is something different, but I just love making sound.
So you travel all over the world playing music. Is there any specific place that you like to play the most?
Going home is kind of special because we travel so much; that will be lovely. It’s an important time for us to be playing in Australia, too.
What was it like growing up in Victoria, Australia and how did that get you into music?
I was always on my own, you know, in the Bush on the coast with my dog and my motorbike. I used to camp all the time and spent a lot of time in silence, a lot of silence came through and I’d sing to myself, that’s kind of where it came from. Essentially what I do now is the same, it has just becomes a bit more produced than it was back then. So I guess I sing the songs of creation, inspired by our earth and what’s coming through me at any particular time. I don’t really give a shit about human mish-mash, I really, really care for the bigger picture of our Earth and creation and we are just an equal part of that. I really respect that and sing a lot about that.
Have you been a vegetarian your whole life?
I’ve been a vegetarian for about 20 years. I grew up eating meat.
So you said you spent a lot of time by yourself when you were discovering your music. What prompted you to do that?
It’s just what I did, man. I don’t know, I just liked getting away. We lived in the Bush so that’s what I knew. I decided I wanted to go as deep as I could.
Would you say a lot of your inspiration comes from the time you spent in the Bush discovering yourself?
Yeah, there’s a lot of spirit in Australia, it’s a pretty ancient place. There’s a lot of bigger picture stuff that happens out there, stuff that is hard for us to judge with our minds. Definitely to me, as a songwriter it, presents a lot of songs.
After your European tour you’re heading back to Australia for a lengthy run. Are there any specific dates or venues you are excited to play?
We are doing some funny ones. We’re doing some parts regional Australia, just out-of-the-way places. We’re trying to get our project to as many weird and wacky places as we can. You know, we are doing some of the bigger centers, but we are also making our way off the beaten track and that’ll be cool. A lot of those places don’t get to see a lot of professional touring acts, so we are probably enlightening a lot of those people, so that feels good because Australia needs that right now.
Xavier Rudd and The United Nations have been steadily touring in support of the new album Nanna. The U.S. tour concludes in Aspen, Co on June 5. Afterwards, Xavier and The United Nations are embarking on a lengthy European tour that will segue into a slew of Australian tour dates. Catch these guys while you can, you will not be disappointed.