When it was announced that Jed Kurzel had taken over from Harry Gregson-Williams as the 'Alien' soundtrack composer on the 2017 movie 'Alien: Covenant', many fans thought it would not work. The Australian son of a Polish immigrant, Kurzel formed the band The Mess Hall in Sydney in 2001, which soon reduced to a duo with Kurzel as singer and guitarist and Anthony Johnsen on drums. Playing a mix of blues and rock, they released their self-titled album in 2003. Johnsen was later replaced by Cec Condon as the duo won further acclaim for their award-winning 'Devils Elbow' album in 2007. By this time Kurzel had already dipped his toe into the world of film scores, collaborating with director Kim Farrant on 'Naked On the Inside' (2006) and Ben Briand's 'Castor & Pollux' (2009). However, his big break in the film world came when his director brother Justin Kurzel asked him to compose the music for his 2011 movie 'Snowtown', which went on to win a Screen Music Award for Feature Film Score of the Year. This acolade opened up many doors for Jed and soon he was asked to compose the score for Ridley Scott's latest 'Alien' film 'Alien: Covenant' in 2017.
