Growing up in a family of seven children in Torquay, Victoria (Australia), near the famous surfing location Bells Beach, Rudd showed a keen interest in music. While primary school-aged, Rudd used his mother's vacuum cleaner as a makeshift didgeridoo and he began playing his brother's guitar. He also played saxophone and clarinet as a child.
Before launching his solo career, Rudd began playing music as part of the band 'Xavier and the Hum'. In 2004, Rudd released Solace, his first album to be distributed by a major label.
Rudd's music is compassionate and always manages to render emotion in his fans. His songs include stories of the mistreatment of the indigenous people of his homeland; they tell of humanity, spirituality or the environment. The songs are written and sung with compassion and they urge the celebration of life.
Rudd is skilled with a variety of instruments, include guitar, shaker, didgeridoo, Weissenborn slide guitar, Tongue drum, stomp boxe, djembe, harmonica, ankle bells, and slide banjo. It's an experience to watch him perform his songs live, as he plays the guitar, digeridoo and various percussion instruments simultaneously, using a unique stage setup. But the real magic comes when he opens his mouth and his soulful voice spills upon his audience.
Rudd recalls that when he was 10, his dad took him to see Paul Simon’s Graceland tour. “I remember seeing it and knowing that that was what I was gonna do,” he says. “I had no doubt. It sort of made sense, because I’d always lived in my head, in this world of song that was my own little secret. But to see that show and that whole thing happening, I sort of felt comfortable as a human, and thought.” He learned to play the digeridoo, the 50,000-year-old wooden trumpet of the Aboriginal people, by practising on a vacuum cleaner pipe.
As a teenager, Rudd really got into songwriting. He started performing at his school, with solo gigs following. He drew inspiration from artists such as Leo Kottke, Ben Harper, Natalie Merchant and multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, as well as music from diverse sources, such as Hawaii and Native American music.
As with most solo artists, Rudd has experimented playing in a band. Though it was a short- lived experiment, as Rudd quickly found that it wasn't the right way to go for him. “What I do now is just more me,” he says. “And it sounds full.”
Quotes:
“It’s all about peace and happiness,” he says of his performances. “That’s sort of the blanket that seems to sort of settle in the room, or on the venue when I play, but I sort of feel not solely responsible. I don’t really feel like it’s me and the audience. I feel like it’s all of us, one big connection and I just happen to be channeling the energy through music. It comes from the audience and channels through me and I put it back in the audience.”
“My music is about good spirit. I’m so lucky to be able to do what I do. I’m so blessed to be able to be able to travel around and play music and connect with so many people in so many places in so many cultures. It’s a gift of life as a musician.”
After the failure of his marriage in 2009, Rudd was supported in his grief and recovery by new South African bandmates, bassist Tio Moloantoa and percussionist Andile Nqubezelo. Rudd had met Moloantoa and Nqubezelo performing at the 2008 Wiesen Nuke Festival in Austria. Rudd described his connection with Moloantoa and Nqubezelo as musical, spiritual and emotional—"I feel like they were sent to me," he said.
In 2010 Rudd bought 20 hectares of property at Koonyum Range, Mullumbimby, the location was the inspiration for the name of the album Rudd would release with Moloantoa and Nqubezelo, titled "Koonyum Sun", as Xavier Rudd & Izintaba. The album moved away from the heavier sound of Rudd's 2008 album "Dark Shades of Blue" to a more up-beat style.
"Nanna", the 2015 album Rudd released as Xavier Rudd & the United Nations champions cultural understanding and condemns racism and intolerance. It features a diverse group of musicians from Australia, South Africa, Samoa, Germany, Ireland, and Papua New Guinea.
In 2018, Rudd released "Storm Boy".
Fortune Teller
Xavier Rudd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your questions, with every move I make
So much time, I filled up with answers
To why my feet, will always hold their ground
Need to be the one
Redefine yourself
See it in your mind
Do it all again
Redefine yourself
See it in your mind
This is all a game
This is my fortune
Well I see, the sun in my window
That questions will remain
This is my fortune
The lyrics of Xavier Rudd's song Fortune Teller speak of an individual who is constantly bombarded with questions from others, and yet they remain steadfast and grounded. The lines "Well I see, because this is my window, Your questions, with every move I make" suggest that the person can see what others cannot - they have a certain insight and clarity that enables them to understand the motivations behind others' words and actions. Nevertheless, the person is also cognizant of how much time they have spent answering these questions and is confident in their ability to hold their ground.
The chorus presents a message of self-reflection and reinvention. The lines "Need to be the one, Redefine yourself, See it in your mind, This is all a game, Do it all again, Redefine yourself, See it in your mind, This is all a game" suggest that the individual needs to take control and reshape their own destiny. They must look within and find the strength to redefine themselves, seeing the world as a game that they can play and win.
Overall, the lyrics can be interpreted as a call to self-realization and empowerment. They underscore the importance of seeing beyond the status quo, remaining steadfast in the face of adversity, and believing in oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I see, because this is my window
I have a perspective that is unique to me
Your questions, with every move I make
People are always curious about me
So much time, I filled up with answers
I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my life
To why my feet, will always hold their ground
I am steadfast in my beliefs and values
Need to be the one
I must take control of my life
Redefine yourself
I must change the way I see myself
See it in your mind
I must visualize the change I want
This is all a game
Life is not so serious
Do it all again
I must keep moving forward
This is my fortune
These insights are valuable to me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: XAVIER RUDD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marthagallegos6914
Well I see, because this is my window
Your questions, with every move I make
So much time, I filled up with answers
To why my feet, will always hold their ground
Need to be the one
Redefine yourself
See it in your mind
This is all a game
Do it all again
Redefine yourself
See it in your mind
This is all a game
This is my fortune
Well I see, the sun in my window
That questions will remain
This is my fortune
@gundernicolas3948
Saw him play this song live.. I can't describe how good it was..
@megdesrochers
words can't describe how much i adore this song.
@Ascanius77
Saw this one live last weekend, he absolutely tears it up on his lap steel. Just goes to town on that thing. Was incredible!
@randomactoffun23
I have never heard anyone do anything like that to a guitar. This song is more than just fantastic, it's genius.
@themayorvt2
Check out Ben Harper....hes the originator of this open tuning slide jams in my opinion
@Nawazaahr
Its so attractive to the ears.
@WillYazdani
yeah except this isn't open tuning, it's standard tuning.
@dawndomeier8993
He is so awesome in concert! I got to see him in a bar! no more than 200 people there! I was in heaven! I am a healer and shaman and no one has touched my soul like he has!
@lamachiavel
Then be a shaman...
@tobiasknupfer7413
Same here