Xavier Rudd + Izintaba - Koonyum Sun

Aussie singer/songwriter Xavier Rudd combines swaying beachfront funk, shimmering acoustic folk melodies and loping, sun-drenched reggae rhythms for a sound that simmers with slow-burning intensity and tropical heat. Fourth album Koonyum Sun (April 20, Fontana North), his first since his appropriately titled, harder edged 2008 album Dark Shades of Blue, is something of a distillation of Rudd's evolving styles since launching in '02: the simpler acoustic soul songs epitomized in lead track "Love Comes and Goes" merging into the fuller, more electric and spacious production of "Soften the Blow", "Sky to Ground" and the densely dramatic and propulsive title track.

Following a devastating emotional breakup that fueled his Dark Shades, the brighter Sun is abetted in high style with the addition of bassist Tio Moloantoa and percussionist Andile Nqubezelo, African musicians who, as Izintaba, add a new found depth to Rudd's expansive compositions in their contributions to the writing and arranging. The beats are fluid and bobbing, the curtain opened wide with a kit bag's worth of both traditional and modern instruments and vocals that swoop, drone and weave in between the glossy percussive waves. "It’s been the most inspirational musical experience of my life,"  Rudd says about his collaborations with Tio and Andile. "We have an undeniable connection – musically, spiritually, and emotionally. I feel like they were sent to me." Highly recommended.

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Xavier Rudd and Izintaba - "Soften the Blow" (from the album Koonyum Sun)

Xavier Rudd and Izintaba - "Sky to Ground" (from the album Koonyum Sun)

Photos: Kane Hibbard