Biography

Hailing from the country town of Gawler, South Australia, Jed Kurzel is an Australian singer/songwriter, guitarist, and film composer, primarily known for being the founding member of garage rock duo the Mess Hall and for his vast array of film scores (particularly those for movies directed by his brother, Justin Kurzel). In the late '90s, Kurzel relocated to Sydney, going on to form the drum/guitar combo project the Mess Hall with drummer Cec Condon in 2001. Inspired by American Midwest blues-rock and the groove-based garage sound of modern rock acts such as the Black Keys, the White Stripes, and Death from Above 1979, the duo put out a number of acclaimed albums and EPs in the 2000s, particularly the hugely anticipated Notes from a Ceiling in 2005. Their third album, 2007's Devil's Elbow, went on to win the Australian Music Prize. Kurzel made his foray into film composition when his brother requested his efforts to score his debut movie, the 2011 crime drama Snowtown. The film and its score were a success, and Jed was awarded the Feature Film Score of the Year award for his Snowtown score. Kurzel went on to compose the music for a number of other motion pictures throughout the 2010s, most notably the 2014 thriller Son of a Gun, 2014's horror smash hit The Babadook, and the 2015 independent Western drama Slow West. Subsequent years saw Kurzel work on more widely known blockbuster titles, such as his brother's 2015 screen adaptation of Macbeth, as well as being brought on by legendary director Ridley Scott to provide the score for the 2017 Prometheus sequel/Alien prequel, Alien: Covenant. ~ Rob Wacey, Rovi