Nanna is the eighth studio album recorded by Xavier Rudd featuring the United Nations, a band featuring a diverse group of musicians from Australia, South Africa, Samoa, Germany, Ireland and Papua New Guinea. The album was recorded and self-produced in Australia and mixed by Errol Brown in Jamaica.
Contents
Reception
In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek calls Rudd's work on Nanna "far more collaborative than anything he's done before." On the first single, "Come People", "Rudd's vocals are urgent, layered just above backing vocalists Georgia Carowa and Alicia Mellor, whose chants underscore his lines", but it's the United Nations collective who are the voice of the album. Jurek believes "Rudd reveals himself as a gifted bandleader and arranger" allowing the United Nations to shine "in this ambitious mix."
Dan Lander of Rolling Stone Australia wrote, "Nanna is a beautiful celebration of global sound, the only flaw being that Rudd's own unique voice gets a little lost in all that egalitarianism."
Personnel
Bobby Alu – Drums, percussion
Georgia Carowa – Backing vocals
Stuart Currie – Trombone
Eddie Elias – Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, piano
Peter Hunt – Trumpet
Simon Keet – Synthesizer
Chris Lane – Bansuri, tenor sax
Alicia Mellor – Backing vocals
Tio Moloantoa – Bass
Yeshe Reiners – Ngoni, percussion
Xavier Rudd – Guitar, vocals, Weissenborn, Yidaki