Xavier Rudd – HuffPost 8.30.10

[Note: I included this exchange in the “advice” section because I felt it contained inspirational information.]

Mike Ragogna: Koonyum Sun includes “Sky To Ground” which is a checklist of problems, though it has a very positive message and sets up the album’s overall theme.

Xavier Rudd: Thank you very much. It’s definitely been inspired by all my travel and things I’ve seen or things I know. The gift of life, I think, is the greatest thing we get to share as an artist or anyone who travels the globe for what they do. You get that gift of culture and appreciation of other places, which, in turn, makes you appreciate your home. So, it’s definitely something I’ve drawn from.

MR: To me, this album is sort of like Paul Simon’s Graceland on acid. You’ve got a mixture of reggae, Soca, African…but you can’t single out the styles. They’re very unique yet familiar.

XR: I use a bunch of eclectic instruments that come from my background and my place, and I made this record with Tio Moloantoa and Andile Nqubezelo from Johannesburg, South Africa, so, they bring all their culture, story, music, and energy. It’s kind of a world feel, I think, for sure.