There is a lot on Alex Edwards’ plate at the moment; from the Alex Edwards Band to making films. We covered all of that and then some in this back and forth exchange, including learning that Alex Edwards Band will be moving forward with a new name…Exciting things are on the horizon, so check out what they are!

Kendra: So you took a pretty long break from music to focus your creativity elsewhere. How long after you finished your debut novel did you get an inkling to start writing and recording music again?

Alex Edwards: It was a pretty immediate transition mentally, at least. I think that there was a lot of build-up during the writing of ‘Maradha’s Game’ that could no longer be damned and it had to spill into something melodious essentially as soon as I was creatively done with the book. It was a happy homecoming of sorts to something that I’ll never renounce.

Kendra: Are there any songs inspired by your other outlets to be found on ‘Fealty Fjords?’

Alex Edwards: Yes! There’s one song in particular called “Zion” that I wrote about a subterranean civilization worrying about its discovery by mantle-dwelling humanoids, and it overlaps a short story that I won an award for during Undercover Artists Festival this year – in the poetry and prose section.

There is also a cartoon movie I am producing called “Gods, Goddesses and God’s Earth” that has just finished seeing actors/actresses lend their voices to it in the studio, and it covers some of the extra-terrestrial themes that Fealty Fjords touches on. Generally, the futurism and sci-fi necks of the woods are explored by all of my art forms lately!

Kendra: Again, this is your first release since 2015’s ‘Flight Frost.’ What significant changes did you notice about yourself as a musician when you got into the writing and recording process this time around?

Alex Edwards: This is a great question. They are all great questions! Thank you for taking so much time to delve into my artist story, Kendra! It means a lot. And, to answer your query…I think this time around I was less of a perfectionist. I also wrote to a metronome instead of in freeform tempo (which is what I did for ‘Flight Frost’), so that the emotion of the tracks during their composition stage could be better appendixed for later; with a certain pace to the songs set from the demo days, it was easier to reproduce the originally intended aesthetic when it came time to track the guitar and vocals.

Kendra: Also, two albums with F alliteration. What’s that all about?

Alex Edwards: This is a motif that will last as long as I am a singer-songwriter. It all began with the ‘Fight or Flight’ mechanism which ‘Flight Frost’ is termed after, and from there, it has stuck. I think it represents the notion of creative limitation improving your artwork’s scope, ironically. I want to keep the screws tightly wound with the “F, F” theme (and with other dynamics, such as album art and story progression) and hopefully, it continues to build up pressure throughout my career to maintain a certain level of climactic energy!

Kendra: Your single, “Hello,” has this vibrancy to it that’s matched by the alien-inspired video. If you came into contact with a legit alien and had to make them a mixtape that best represented your local Brisbane scene, what five artists/songs would have to be on it?

Alex Edwards: Great question! I think I’d probably start with “Powderfinger” and say, “Hey, these guys are huge. Here’s a song – “These Days” – it’s by one of the most famous bands from Brisbane, they own a venue here that a lot of bands love to play at and in terms of contemporary famous Brissie acts, they’re perhaps at the top.” Then I’d select someone like “Masked Wolf” perhaps and say “This song by them – ‘Astronaut In The Ocean’ – is huge, and has exploded on TikTok – they might not have achieved the same fame and success as “Powderfinger,” but their song has over 200 million streams on Spotify and is a worldwide hit.”

Then, I would say to the alien that in a fair representation of all Brisbane has to offer, not just the highly successful acts are a complete demographic analysis. Perhaps an upper-mid-level act that has a lot of local love and is very contemporary is someone like “The Jungle Giants” and I’d recommend “She’s A Riot.” Then at four, maybe a mid-level act that everybody is enjoying would be “The Goon Sax.”

I’d recommend “Desire.” And lastly, something very underground… for the full cross-section… it’s gotta go to my friend “Sean Fitzgerald.” He’s been around for a while now, and while he’s moved to the Gold Coast, he did live in Brisbane before, and he’s sheer magic. I’d put “Hold On” at number 5.

Kendra: I ask because you’re a huge champion of your local scene, even writing for Brisbane Indie Gems. How long have you been blogging about music?

Alex Edwards: I’m about 2 months in, so it’s early days, but I feel like I can squeeze it into my schedule and there’s just too much good music out there to miss out on. I started it because I think as an indie artist, it can be hard to gain press and media quotes, so I felt I could at least spin my own yarns about local acts for them to build up their EPK’s with my help at least!

Kendra: On top of all of the above, you also have this really interesting short story you’re planning on making into a film called “The Psychotic Mind.” Really quick, can you tell readers what it’s about and perhaps where the concept for that came from. Oh, and when can we expect to see it all played out on screen?

Alex Edwards: So, “The Psychotic Mind” is an autobiographical piece about my experiences with schizophrenia. It’s a 1500-word preview to an 18,000-word screenplay that we (my recording engineer and I) just finished getting all the voices done for.

We capped it off at about 26 actors, and they all did astonishingly well to bring to life the story of a musician who throws their maiden show in unmitigated psychosis and ends up in mental hospital a few months later, surrounded by gods, goddesses, and aliens – and the story that unfolds from there is downright surrealist. It’s going to be distributed on YouTube as a cartoon until it can be pitched to an endearing studio somewhere that wishes to finance it into either a live-action version or an upgraded cartoon!

Kendra: You have a lot going on, and I mean a lot – but is there anything else we can be on the lookout for as we say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022?

Alex Edwards: Well, there are label talks but I’m sworn to secrecy on them. But perhaps more interesting again, is that “Alex Edwards Band” will become “SNOWCATS” in 2022…as members have become more cozy in our playing arrangement! And that Snowcats have just hooked up a project management deal with Footstomp Music in Brisbane for six months, so we are all pretty excited to collaborate with their team and put the pedal to the metal and see how much buzz we can emit.