“I think my music and journey is much bigger and comes from a different place than I can really understand in my mind and how I see it, so I don’t like to fuck with it."

 

_Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and barefooted troubadour Xavier Rudd has been touring his latest album Dark Shades of Blue for over a year now. He recently took a week off for the first time in 10 years. He also just added a couple South African musicians to his live show, and in 2007 was named “World’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity” by PETA.

But all of that is trivial to the 31-year-old master didgeridooist.

For Rudd there are more important vibes that need to be sought out and explored.

The outspoken Torquay, Victoria native has become a voice for aboriginal rights through his music, which often features aboriginal instruments and singing. His passion to bring to the forefront what most people shrug off is even more apparent when he compares the plight of Australian aboriginals to Canadian ones.

“White culture has never embraced aboriginality and only a short time ago aboriginality was shunned and they tried to get rid of it as much as they could so that’s created a current day situation where white people haven’t been educated about aboriginal culture, they don’t understand it.”

In 10 years of touring Rudd has come across “pockets of people” that share his vision for global harmony. His lyrics often cross the line into social protest and environmental awareness and are rooted in nature. Themes of fire, earth, and ocean, they all make constant appearances on his five studio albums.

It is this respect for the land and people that has directed his energy to help spread the gospel of aboriginal spirits.

Photo by Ændrew Rininsland. See the rest of the photos from Sled Island in our community gallery.

Dicken’s Pub smelled like dirty sex as drum and bass made passionate love to dubstep and delivered a new baby for all the freaks, metal heads, and bassnymphos to witness and nurture during Sled-Island’s only electronic music showcase featuring New York’s premier jungle DJ Dieselboy, June 24.

Calgary’s staple dubsteppers The Supreme Hustle got the bassline rolling and proved Cowtown can evolve and lead a movement just as well as any city as they laid down a frantic set of wobbly excess. MC Think Tank provided lightning fast, fist pumping, dread-lock thrashing vocals on several tracks, adding to the DIY connectivity of the growing Calgary electronic music scene.

As the positive vibes and beautiful girls filtered in, Calgary bass master’s PK sound rolled in two, over-the-top speakers that filled in the stage, this on top a myriad of speakers, woofers, cables, wires and light. The wall of sound was set for a surprise performance by Japan’s dubstep king Goth Trad.