White Moths and Aboriginalspirits: An interview withXavier Rudd

Fri 16th Nov, 2007 in Features

The phrase “life is a journey, not a destination” was coined after people like Xavier Rudd. Throughout our entire conversation this cliché kept popping into my head. This may be for many reasons; one of them quite possibly being that in almost every discussion we had he referred to his – œjourney’ at least once. He is clearly a man fascinated and honoured by his journey, which led me to enquire about where it is taking him next, “I feel shaped by an older existence that in my mind, in my body, my state in this world right now, I couldn’t really ever predict anything. So, I respect that and just flow with that. I am constantly surprised by things that happen and where I go and what I do and I like it that way. I am happy to shut my mind off and just follow it, ride the train”.

This laid-back outlook seemingly permeates all areas of Rudd’s existence. He doesn’t set out to write music; instead he believes the music finds him.
“My music comes when it comes,” he says. “I have never been someone who sits down and tries to write a song, it just sort of happens when it happens”. When the music does reach him he finds it could be a personal or emotional reflection of what’s going on in his life or the result of a spirit coming to visit him from another place. Although the inspiration is channelled different ways there is one constant.

“When it happens, it happens strong and it happens fast,” he says. “Usually it just sort of unfolds. “I might be anywhere a lot of times, when I am out on country…in the ocean. I get a lot of inspiration from the outdoors”. Such was the case when Rudd was vacationing on his wife’s birthday. “We were on the beach and [his son] found a white moth and it was really beautiful,” he says. “It stayed and we had a connection with it. We thought it was the spirit of my wife’s grandmother coming through. He and I wrote a song White Moth and sang it to her that night…because of her connection to my journey we decided to call [the latest album] White Moth ”.

The journey Rudd took while writing and recording for White Moth was a special to him, one full of spiritual connections and the musical talents of indigenous elders. This collection of music, moments, and stories has moulded together to shape his proudest work yet. Rudd credits his aboriginal heritage as being responsible for being blessed with a connection to nature. “Maybe I’ve just got older aboriginal spirits of this country that sit with me and remind me of it constantly,” he says. “It is just something that has always been in me, I have always had a strong connection to earth and to country and ocean and I feel that my music is a reflection of how I feel…each song represents different feelings, and emotions and spirits.”

Even with the endless free-flow of creative energy swirling around him in the studio, his real love is performing. He loves the vibe found at festivals, the big crowds with their big energy coming at him on stage, but because of the shorter set times he likes his own gigs as well. “I like to play for a long time,” he explains. “When I play a headlining show it’s kind of a journey”. But, to him performing is rewarding and exciting every time, whether in front of 80,000 at Bonnaroo or 600 at the Enmore: “You know, I like them all, I just like playing”.

Anyone that has seen him live knows first hand of his ability to create such a unique atmosphere with his passion, energy and musical talent. For someone who feeds so much off of the crowd for inspiration, sometimes he finds it hard to capture that in the recording booth. “It is hard, it’s different,” Rudd says. “An album is more of an intimate reflection of the songs from a personal space. Whereas in a large situation it’s the same physical expression but it’s everybody else’s energy involved which influences what’s happening and helps shape the music. So, it’s difficult to relay that live energy in the studio for sure.”

By recording live Rudd offsets the lack of energy but he joked there were other methods he could try, like getting a bunch of people in the studio so he has a little audience. Don’t worry, I volunteered. If Rudd is even half as compelling in the studio as he is on stage (and even on the phone) I am sure I can muster some energetic vibes his way.

To see when the White Moth tour is coming near you visit www.xavierrudd.com