Xavier Rudd 'Food In The Belly' album

"Xavier Rudd (..) offers a strikingly original mix of music. Some of his sound (and idealism) echoes the surf-folk of Jack Johnson, while his Weissenborn guitar-playing evokes Ben Harper. But mostly, Rudd is on a plateau of his own, playing a one-man blend of guitars, didgeridoos, stomp boxes, djembe drums, and even slide banjo. Expect this album to crack some top 10 lists this year ' BOSTON GLOBE

Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd is a one of a kind artist with a clear vision, personality, and an independent attitude. An established artist in his native Australia and his second home, Canada, Rudd’s debut for Anti, Food in the Belly is his 6th record. His extensive travels as a surfer has both shaped and help spread his music. Taking the voice of classic singer/songwriters (he’s a professed Paul Simon fan) as template, he’s imprinted his influences from traveling all over the world and exploring other cultures into a style which is unique, fresh and vital. His original live performances have helped him build an international reputation… literally with his own hands and feet. From his bare soles on a wooden resonator box to the breath humming in his yidakis (didgeridoos), his work resonates from the ground up and the inside out. Xavier Rudd has developed one of the most passionate and rapidly spreading grassroots audiences of recent times and his original live performances has won him what others take a lifetime of marketing schemes to accomplish: a rabid fan base, media recognition and sold out shows across Europe.

Biography

Angst, lust, sorrow, aggro and ego will have their say. Gratitude is a path less travelled in the emotional landscape of modern music. It may be the strange, potent quality that unites Xavier Rudd with one of the most passionate and rapidly spreading grassroots audiences of recent times.

“FOOD IN THE BELLY is a celebration,” says the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Torquay, on Australia’s south-east coast.

“This is a shaky time and we have our issues, but most of us in the western world are incredibly fortunate. It’s not gonna be this way forever and I feel really appreciative. I guess that gratitude became a theme of this album.”

FOOD IN THE BELLY is Xavier’s sixth album, and his first collaboration with Anti. Following the Australian Top 15 predecessor, Solace, it was recorded by Xavier and co-producer Todd Simko in an autonomous, uncompromising style that reflects a truly independent musical spirit.

“We recorded it in May in Vancouver, in a house converted into a studio,” he explains. “I was living in a little cabin surrounded by deer on Bowen Island, so I took a ferry to the studio every day. The cabin was like a retreat when I was tired of recording. It kept me feeling fresh and connected to reality.

“The dude who owns the studio collects these old instruments so we used some of them on the album. Most important, he had a two-inch tape machine so we didn’t use computers at all. I played everything live.”

The relaxed, organic, analogue process was a natural step for an artist who has built an international reputation with his own hands and feet. From his bare soles on a wooden resonator box to the breath humming in his yidakis (didgeridoos), his work resonates from the ground up and the inside out.

It’s on this primal, hype-free level that Xavier has connected with thousands since he took his acoustic guitars and customised rack of yidakis to the world six years ago. His first CD, Live In Canada (2001), celebrated a bond with that country which has since blossomed across the North American continent.

With lucid poetry and uncluttered arrangements, FOOD IN THE BELLY reflects the world he’s witnessed on this extraordinary journey. It’s not a rose-coloured vision, but one that finds strength from a perspective of rare calm and recognition of fundamental beauty.

The opening track, “The Letter”, finds the singer sitting by the window as the candle at his elbow burns, balancing the weight of the world against his own experience, and surrendering to the ocean that’s brought him this far.

It’s one of many tracks in which he almost sounds like he’s singing to himself, drawing on the purity of an inner process to counter the paranoia and defeatism he acknowledges in the outside world.

“Messages” is an affirmation of personal truth, “Pockets of Peace” a trancelike moment of internal serenity, “The Mother” an ebullient song of praise for the overarching power of nature.

“It was very much an expression within myself, this album,” Xavier agrees. “It was a month of self-indulgence really: no audience or distractions, just pure performance, trying to nail everything perfectly while multi-tasking, like I do.”

In this focused and solitary space, Xavier laid down the album’s percussive undertow, its rich yidaki drones, languid guitar strums and soulful lap slide, as well as the plaintive piano of “Sept, 24, 1999”, perhaps the most intimate and autobiographical song he’s yet committed to tape.

A parade of guests through the Vancouver house also gives FOOD IN THE BELLY a more widely textured and collaborative feel than his previous albums. “It was a really eventful record,” Xavier chuckles. “We had a blast.”

Among the more vivid details are the exotic ring of Harry Manx’s 20-stringed Mohan veena on “Pockets of Peace” and the dusty Hammond B3 organ unearthed by Panos Grames for the ragga groove of “Mother”.

Beth Preston sings harmony on “Messages” and Dave Tully from Nine Mile plays snare and brushes on most tracks. Perhaps most striking is the Vancouver children’s choir’s on “Generation Fade”, a song that acknowledges innocence and optimism as the most effective seeds of change.

Other embellishments include the hand drums of Edgar Dias, tabla by Neil Golden and tuba by Brad Murihead on “Connie’s Song” – one of several tunes that draw on earthy and elemental imagery to towering effect.

“I love this Earth, I love this place,” says Xavier. “There’s something beautiful everywhere you go. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle of a city, you’ll find something beautiful. I’ve been that way all my life. I get an adrenalin rush just from being outdoors sometimes.”

To say it’s contagious is an understatement, especially for anyone who has been swept up in the communal elation of Xavier Rudd’s live performances. From the rolling, finger-picked exuberance of “Energy Song” to the tenderness of “Miss You In My Life” to the earthy drone and stomp of “Fortune Teller”, FOOD IN THE BELLY is ample nourishment for the growing masses drawn to his table.

“I feel lucky to do what I’m doing,” he says. “I’m a very fortunate musician, to have so many people support and appreciate what I do, but I’m also a lucky human being. I think we all are. I guess that’s what this record is about.”

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Xavier Rudd - Food In The Belly