Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds (Alien Weaponry)

Where are you from?

Born and raised Whangārei, New Zealand.

Was there music around you when you were growing up / how?

My parents love music and raised me on a multitude of different music from motown – reggae – opera and everything in between. Also both my parents are beautiful singers and my dad also plays guitar and was the reason I started learning guitar in the first place.

When did you start making music? How has the music you make changed over time?

I’ve been writing music as early as I started learning instruments when I was 6 years old. My first passion for songwriting was in the form of blues piano, which evolved into orchestral composition kinda like film score, Hans Zimmer being a huge inspiration, and now that I am in Alien Weaponry my songwriting has shifted into the heavy metal world.

You participated in Smokefreerockquest... How was that experience for you? Do you have any advice for this year's participants, or young musicians in general?

I was in rockquest a few times, albeit in not very good bands haha we never made it very far and I was terrible at performing in front of people back then. My advice would be to really practice your stage presence. Perform BIGGER and more exaggerated than you might think you need to because it comes across very differently on stage

You have played on some major stages and had some great media coverage of projects you've been involved in... is there any part of your musical journey that stands out as particularly special / a favourite moment?

There have been so many highlights so far but easily my favorite has been Resurrection festival in Spain where 10,000, maybe 15,000 Spaniards were singing in te reo maori, that was pretty special.

When you're writing, what do you start with? What is your process from beginning to end?

At least when it comes to writing for a heavy metal band I always start with a riff and try to develop it into what I call a “Full skeleton”. I never want to have “lone riffs” that just sit around and never get used. Turn any idea you have into the FULL song but not a COMPLETE song. That's what makes it a “skeleton” The structure is all there and “complete” so you actually have something solid to work with but then you can add all the muscles, organs, etc to your skeleton with your band mates.

How do you choose what songs to release?

As a session musician for Alien Weaponry I don’t choose any of the songs they release. I write songs, and they just pick which ones they like. I write many, many songs that they do not choose to even workshop.

What are two things you have learnt along your journey, that you would tell yourself if you could go back in time?

First one would absolutely be to not worry so much about what other people think, particularly if you play a genre of music that's not very popular in your area. Use performing opportunities to really hone in on your skills as a musician/ performer and then show your skills to people that will appreciate the music elsewhere.

 A second thing I have learnt is if you want to tour the world you need to realise what it ACTUALLY entails. It can seem exciting (and it is) but it is not for everyone. Not seeing friends, relationships and family for months on end, very low wages (touring the world does not always equal earning money, especially in the beginning), not always having access to the comforts we expect at home like showers/toilets, it takes some getting used BUT it is so so worth it for the passion of performance

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