As the cult musician and producer releases a new collaborative album, he reflects on 50 years of experimentation – including his forays into psychedelics – his obsession with the new, and the recent Rundgrenaissance
It is morning in Hawaii and on the island of Kauai, Todd Rundgren is beginning his day. “The sun is out. It’s balmy,” he says. “Probably somewhere in the high 70s and getting up into the 80s today.” Earlier, he went outside, chose a couple of oranges from one of his trees and juiced them himself. “Filter wide open, by the way,” he says. “You need your fibre!” Then he made one perfectly scrambled egg. “Some day,” he promises, “I’ll show you how to make that.”
Rundgren has lived on Kauai since 1995. Aside from the climate and the orange trees, one appeal is its time zone. Out in the Pacific Ocean, three hours behind the US west coast, Hawaii is quite removed from the rest of the world. “So,” he says, “one of the unique advantages is that, by the time I get up and start moving, everything’s happened already.” Down the line, his voice is warm and leisurely. “The stock market’s already closed. There’s nothing for me to fret about. It’s already happened.”
