Artist Xavier Rudd & Izintaba

Australian Xavier Rudd is part of the, um, wave of surfer-songwriters that includes guys like Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter, so it makes sense that he worked on the score for Matthew McConaughey’s 2008 comedy Surfer, Dude, about “a soul-searching surfer experiencing an existential crisis.” His most recent disc, 2010's Koonyum Sun, officially gives equal billing to his backing band Izintaba, which uses folk, reggae, rock, and didgeridoos to create the aural equivalent of a Benetton ad.

Updated 08/30/2010