He released the similarly themed Dark Shades of Blue the following year. The album itself, while continuing his blues and roots mix of folk, reggae, rock, and world music, reflects this in its themes, with songs about global warming and his guilt over the fact that he has a higher profile than many of the environmental activists he idolizes. His touring in 2007 in support of his album White Moth was entirely carbon-neutral. Rudd is one of a growing number of environmentally concerned musicians dedicated to reducing the impact of his performances and tours. This album also went platinum in Australia. The same year brought the release of Food in the Belly, a studio album recorded in Vancouver, which saw guest artists including Beth Preston, Harry Manx, and the Vancouver Children's Choir brought in. Another live album, Good Spirit, was recorded at three of his Australian gigs and released in 2005. Gaining more attention, he toured with Jack Johnson as well as G. It debuted in the Top 20 of the ARIA charts and attained platinum sales. The album, still independently released, was his first to be distributed by Universal, gaining a wider audience. Solace contained his cover of Bob Marley's 'No Woman No Cry' and the single 'Let Me Be,' which he plays a popular extended version of at his concerts. His next studio album, 2004's Solace, tried to capture his live sound by eschewing guest artists Rudd played all the instruments himself with only a few overdubs.

His first studio album, To Let, followed a year later.Ģ003 saw another independently released document of his stage performances in Live at the Grid. The first document of his performances, Live in Canada, was recorded there in 2001 and helped spread the word. His wife is also a Canadian he met while she was backpacking through Australia.

All these skills came together when he began busking and traveling.ĭuring his travels, Rudd discovered an affinity for Canada, where he has dual citizenship. He seemed destined to be a musician, but could never focus on just the one instrument, preferring to find ways to combine them together, such as by playing basslines on his guitar while simultaneously finger-picking on the lower strings. While growing up in Torquay and Bell's Beach in Victoria he also learned guitar, clarinet, and saxophone. Rudd first learned the circular breathing technique required to play the didgeridoo by practicing on a vacuum cleaner hose. His albums, several of them live recordings, are most often for sale at these sold-out gigs. He takes this setup with him on frequent tours (as well as his surfboards), relying on word of mouth rather than record labels to speak for him. Rudd is a one-man band who plays surrounded by instruments in a complicated array: typically, he has three didgeridoos placed in front of him on a stand, a guitar on his lap, a stomp box by his habitually bare feet, and an assortment of drums, banjos, harmonicas, bells, and bass guitar near at hand, or near at foot, as the case may be. Utterly unlike both of those musicians, however, he has a unique setup. Like Ben Harper, he plays Weissenborn lap steel guitars. Like Jack Johnson, independent Australian musician Xavier Rudd combines a love of surfing with a love of roots music.

Xavier rudd didgeridoo