Rudgley, who recently returned to Sydney for university after a COVID-wrought first year, has enjoyed a productive period of songwriting, and said his debut solo release has been a long time in the making.

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"It ['Hurricanes'] is a song about backing yourself through times of trouble, though I wouldn't say anything in particular inspired it; it was just a melody that worked," he said.

"When I bought my first loop pedal, I kept layering sounds over this fingerpicking pattern I came up with, and after two years and several changes, the song was there."

Rudgley spent much of 2020 working on music with good friend George Sargent as the duo West of Town, with the pair releasing three singles and opening for The Soul Movers, featuring former Red Wiggle Murray Cook, at their Tamworth and Gunnedah shows.

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But with West of Town taking a break [Sargent too has left Bathurst for Deniliquin], Rudgley is hoping to focus on his own music concurrently with study.

"When I was with George, I was writing music that would suit him, whereas the solo stuff is tailored to my interests," he said.

"I've got a fair few songs recorded; a whole album's worth of material is sitting there, I'm just unsure what to do with it at the moment."

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Rudgley's core influences include Ziggy Alberts and Tyne-James Organ, and he returns to Bathurst for gigs on a semi-regular basis.

'Hurricanes' will be released on all streaming platforms.

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