Who

The music of Fight the Kipple is the brainchild of Tim Morgan (that’s me). I like to think of it as a fusion of my Christian faith, wide musical tastes and the fact that I think I’ve got Multi-Instrumentalism Syndrone.

My Christianity is at the core of who I am and what I’m about. For me, it’s not about rules or religion, it’s simply about knowing God and being known by Him – despite the fact that I’m just another normal person, full of (some) strengths and (probably plenty of) weaknesses. I try to have my lyrics reflect this. A quote from a Rick Joyner book got under my skin some years ago: “Those who are the closest to the Creator should be the most creative”*. I certainly don’t claim to be great at either, but I actively pursue knowing God and developing the creativity He has placed within me.

My musical tastes are pretty wide – I’ll listen to anything at least once! Growing up, I enjoyed music such as the new wave of The Cure, Björk’s electronica, Smashing Pumpkins alt rock and U2’s “whatever-they-were-doing-in-the-90s”. A love of Bjork’s eclectic brand of electronica led to me exploring other Icelandic artists, particularly Múm and Sigur Rós / Jónsi. Being mesmerized by Miles Davis’ On the Corner album was my entry to the world of jazz, from where the path diverged for me into the uber-funk grooves of Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters and back into the cool swing of Davis’ earlier years. Always being on the look out for artists willing to experiment, I have enjoyed following the journey of Radiohead and albums such as Aphex Twin’s Drukqs. There’s been plenty of other sights along the way, like Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts, the music of Four Tet, or even Debussy, Bach, Tchaikovsky…. The journey just goes on and on! But if there’s a common thread among the artists that I have enjoyed the most, it’s probably a willingness to push themselves and evolve.

Although not formally diagnosed, I’m pretty sure I have Multi-Instrumentalism Syndrome (MIS). It started back when I first learnt guitar and piano – soon followed by bass and drums (pre-dated by Animal-inspired pot drumming). I played in a youth band at my church, just filling in on whatever instrument was available at the time. “Can you play the drums?” “I guess we’ll find out!”… And somewhere along the way I did learn how to. These days, there are a few more instruments hiding around the house, some guitar pedals, a reasonable percussion collection (including some interesting found instruments). Add to that sound engineering and production, and a number of musical apps on my iPad – I think it’s pretty clear I’ve “got the bug”! (If you think you or someone you love may suffer from MIS, embrace it. Common symptoms include hiding instruments around the house and generally having a musical soundtrack to your life. Please be aware that MIS is infectious and can spread to other members of your family.)

None of us create in a vacuum, so somehow all of these things influence me. And what comes out as a result is Fight the Kipple.

A bit more about me

Name: Tim Morgan
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Family: Married with three awesome sons
Enjoys: Music, Sci-fi Movies, Spending time with my wife and family
Favourite Places: Beach, Bush, Art Galleries

* I’m trying to remember which book this was, but like I said it was a while ago! Rick Joyner has said similar things here.