'Koonyum Sun'! That's the title of the new Xavier Rudd CD. Finally! Apparently also somewhat lighter material again, following the overwhelming trip on his previous album 'Dark Shades Of Blue'. Versatile Xavier currently plays primarily with Tio Moloantoa (bass) and Andile Nqubezelo (drums). Both ex - Lucky Dube, that rather legendary South African act, and the three of them recently toured the states already. The studio sessions must be pretty much finished now and idiosyncratic Xavier would prefer present the new songs live to his European audience first. Cool! So if you've been a bit of a Xavier Rudd follower (including that full AB in December 2008) then you'll have something exclusive to intensely look forward to!
Meanwhile, for the Xavier Rudd first-timers, just a quick recap of some previous praise? Hypnotizing and perfect for those who love adventurous music. Xavier Rudd is from Australia but the world is his oyster, and clearly that world must still last an eternity. Living organic and healthy are the keywords, but Xavier Rudd does package his messages honestly and with craftsmanship. A deep, socially involved but equally grooving and exciting musician and, quite literally, a multi-instrumentalist: solo he can do all sorts of things at the same time, with plenty of respect for nature and the Aboriginal culture, thus with didgeridoo (alias the yirdaki) plus percussion, harmonica and guitar (preferably the Weissenborn.)
You can still class Xavier Rudd along side Ani DiFranco, Jack Johnson, Daniel Lanois, Donavon Frankenreiter... in that inspired section. What a performance trip!