Jed Danyel Kurzel (born 1976) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and film composer. He is a founding member of The Mess Hall (from 2001), a blues rock duo. His older brother Justin Kurzel is a film director and screenwriter.
Jed Kurzel | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jed Danyel Kurzel |
Born | 1976 (age 47–48) Gawler, South Australia, Australia |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Kurzel was born in c.1976 and, with his older brother Justin Kurzel (born c.1974), grew up in Gawler, South Australia.[1][2] Their father, Zdzislaw Kurzel (1946–2006), was from Poland and had migrated to Australia in 1960, where he became a taxi driver.[3][4][5] In the 1990s, Kurzel moved to Sydney, where Justin was studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).[2]
In 2001 Kurzel on lead vocals and guitar, Anthony Johnsen on drums and a bass guitarist formed a blues-rock group, the Mess Hall in Sydney – the bass guitarist soon left but was not replaced, they continued as a duo.[6] Kurzel recalled "When the clubs asked us where our bass player was, we used to lie and say he was sick."[6] Their debut album The Mess Hall was released in June 2003. In early 2004 Johnsen was replaced by Cec Condon on drums and vocals.[7] Their third album Devils Elbow (October 2007) won the Australian Music Prize.[8]
In 2000 Kurzel composed the film score for the short subject, Sammy Blue, at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, with Kim Farrant directing.[9][10] He worked for Farrant again: providing the score for Naked on the Inside (2006), a feature film documentary on body image.[10] In 2009 he composed music for Castor & Pollux, a short film, directed by Ben Briand.[11]
In 2011 Kurzel provided the music score for the directorial debut feature film by Justin, Snowtown.[12] At the APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards of 2011 Kurzel won Feature Film Score of the Year.[13] It was nominated for Australian Film Institute Award for Best Original Music Score.[14] The related soundtrack album was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album in that same year.[15][16]
Kurzel also wrote the scores for Son of a Gun, Slow West and the documentary All This Mayhem. In 2015, he worked again with his brother on Macbeth, followed by Assassin's Creed in 2016. He replaced Harry Gregson-Williams as the composer of Alien: Covenant.[17]
Year | Title | Director | Studio(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Naked on the Inside | Kim Farrant | Magic Real Picture Company | |
2014 | All This Mayhem | Eddie Martin | Hopscotch Films | AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score in a Documentary[22] |
Year | Title | Director | Studio(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Sammy Blue | Kim Farrant | AFTRS |
2007 | The Rose of Ba Ziz | Aden Young | |
2009 | Castor & Pollux | Ben Briand | Benah |
2014 | Dook Stole Christmas | Jennifer Kent | Smoking Gun Productions |
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Snowtown | Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album | Nominated | [23] |