JG Thirlwell
James George Thirlwell (born January 29, 1960 in Melbourne , Australia ), also known under the name Foetus (and other variations of this name), Steroid Maximus , Clint Ruin , Wiseblood and Manorexia and others. a., is a singer , composer and producer from the no-wave and post-industrial environment. He is named as a role model by many artists, including Alexander Kaschte , Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor . He gained fame primarily through his numerous collaborations with other musicians.
Youth and education
Little is known about JG Thirlwell's childhood and youth. He grew up near the city of Melbourne in Australia and briefly studied art there. In the late 1970s he moved to London to become an artist. There he started to work as a graphic designer .
Musical career
The early years (1979–1982)
In the late 1970s and early 1980s he played in several London bands, including the post-punk band PragVEC . Due to the band concept, he soon found himself restricted in his artistic freedom and left the group again to pursue his own musical vision. In his words:
"I want to be successful or go under, but according to my own rules and not with some stupid jazz rock guitar!"
In 1981 Thirlwell founded his own label Self Immolation , whose first releases were pressed in France. In order to save money, he produced his pieces entirely by himself. In January 1981 the debut single OKFM / Spite Your Face was released and a few months later the 45s Wash It All Off . Both were limited to 1000 pieces and sold out after a few weeks. The also limited edition of the debut album Deaf was 1500.
During his first appearances in New York , Thirlwell stood out clearly from the local no-wave scene. Trashy sound elements with disturbing lyrics earned him the reputation of a "perverse psychopath". As a result, curiosity attracted many visitors to his gigs. At that time he was already using various pseudonyms for his phonograms, which always revolved around the term fetus . In order not to distract from the music, he avoided having his face printed on the covers. The trained graphic artist has done the cover artwork himself since the 1980s.
With a single and the second album Ache, he perfected a dark disco sound in 1982. The strictly limited LP was sold out after days. At the time, Foetus was first played on British radio by John Peel and the name gained notoriety outside of the underground scene. Thirlwell planned a triple LP called Foetus On The Beach , which was never released. Parts of it came later on the album Sink . His project was also featured on compilations for the first time in 1982. The last single-handed release was the - as usual limited - EP Custom Built for Capitalism .
Towards the end of the same year, Thirlwell met musicians from the London club scene, including Marc Almond . The next year he toured England and the United States as a support act with his band Soft Cell . With Almond, Lydia Lunch and Nick Cave he founded the Immaculate Consumptives and toured England with them and other artists. The first television interviews also took place this year. Later he started the side project Foetus Flesh with Roli Mosimann, which was later renamed Wiseblood . Shortly before the end of the year he produced Anni Hogan's album Kickabye . a. Marc Almond and Nick Cave can be heard.
Rise in the Underground (1984)
In 1984 Thirlwell signed a record deal with the Some Bizarre label , which also featured bands like Soft Cell. This enabled him to make his music accessible to a wide audience. His third album, Hole , was very well received by various music magazines and was often played on various radio stations. The notes with which later bands like Nine Inch Nails would reap world fame were already found here . The first extensive tour through the USA, England and parts of Europe followed. The album was later released worldwide.
With Roli Mosimann he went to the Netherlands and Norway , where the two recorded the first tracks for their Wiseblood project in the studio.
In 1984 another three EPs were released, one of which ( Wash / Slog ) made it to number 5 in the British indie annual charts. In addition, the collaboration with artists such as Lydia Lunch was intensified. Thirlwell is also represented on various samplers. He was also involved in Marc Almond's projects again.
At the beginning of 1985 Wiseblood's first sound carrier came out in the form of an EP ( Motorslug ), which became a club hit in the London Newwave scene . A little later, the box The Fetus Of Excellence was released. It was limited to 836 pieces, exactly the number that was necessary to break even . The box was sold out after a few days and is still a much sought-after collector's item today. The box did not contain any sound carriers, but a T-shirt and reached the British pop charts without containing any music, which no artist has succeeded in doing until today.
The climax and the time after (1985–1990)
In the same year, the fourth album Nail was released, which is considered by journalists and fan circles as the best release of fetus. It reached top positions in various voting charts and was featured in many music magazines, and in some countries it even made it into official sales charts. Due to the success of this album, the first two albums were also re-released on CD. Shortly thereafter, Thirlwell's first major world tour took him from England via the USA to Japan . On this tour, there was also the first major controversy when he impaled 5–10 pig's heads on stage per concert , or strapped an AK-47 around his stomach. In New York he was crucified in front of his audience .
The Belgian band Front 242 is enthusiastic about this album, after which Thirlwell toured Europe in their opening act.
In 1985, he starred in two short films by Richard Kern called Submit to me now and The Right Side Of My Brain with.
A short time later, the Wiseblood album Dirtdish was released . Thirlwell focused on this project for the next year and a half. In order not to disappear into oblivion, he released two EPs from the Fetus series in 1987.
During this time he worked again increasingly with other artists and released the EP Slut with Marc Almond under the name The Flesh Volcano and the EP Stinkfist with Lydia Lunch . After a few concerts he devoted himself again to a new fetus album.
Thaw was made available to the public in the spring of 1988, the sales figures were a little behind those of the two previous albums, but the audience and the magazines praised the stylistic development. This was followed by a tour through Europe, during which Fetus also performed for the first time in Austria .
The live album Rife , limited to a total of 6000 pieces, was released from the tour . At the end of 1988 the first compilation was pressed under the name Sink , which contained previously unreleased pieces.
In 1990 some side projects were launched, for example he published the single Powerhouse under the name Garage Monsters and started the instrumental project Steroid Maximus . The single Butterfly Potion was released under the name Foetus Inc. , it was the last time that Thirlwell changed his pseudonym. Later he went on tour with the Einstürzende Neubauten .
Setbacks (1991–1994)
At the beginning of 1991 an EP with Lydia Lunch and another by Wiseblood were released. A planned tour did not materialize because Wiseblood was dissolved in the same year. Around the same time, the first Steroid Maximus album , an instrumental project, was released. However, the records sold slowly and the subsequent tour turned out to be not very successful. Thirlwell later canceled his recording contract with Some Bizarre and moved from London to New York , where a second album by Steroid Maximus was released in 1992 .
He was unable to take a tour due to health problems, he fell into an artistic low and suffered a nervous breakdown. He was struggling with severe alcohol and drug problems and his unhealthy lifestyle was also draining him. Later releases were not appreciated by his fans.
At the beginning of 1993 his second live album and a live VHS were released, the recordings are from the years 1990-1991.
In 1994 it remained quiet about him.
Style change and world tour (1995–1997)
In 1995 Thirlwell signed a contract with the major label Sony BMG for his next album. First the EP Null was released, which still contained remixes from earlier times. His album Gash was released worldwide through a major promotion, but the sales figures remained far below the label's expectations, although a video for Verklemmt was shot and played on MTV . However, the following USA tour was quite successful and the contract was extended. The big band sound clearly stood out from its earlier style and earned it criticism from fans who saw it as being mainstream.
At the beginning of 1996 Foetus set off with a full live band on a major world tour with a total of 89 concerts in all parts of the world. Some recordings of the tour can be heard on the live compilation Boil . Since the recordings were technically bad, the album was a flop. Shortly thereafter, he lost the record deal and signed with Thirsty Ear that same year. Thirlwell used this label above all to re-release his old albums, which means that records such as Slut , Dirtdish and Sink were also available on CD .
At the end of 1997 he brought out the EP York together with Lydia Lunch , after which he retired for the next three years.
Current (2001 to today)
In 2001, Flow, his last album, was released on Thirsty Ear before he switched to the indie label EctopicEnds. Flow was both qualitatively and lyrically on a higher level than his 1990s productions.
His side projects also found time to get noticed again, for example a new album was released by Steroid Maximus and the Manorexia orchestra was brought into being. In 2003 he was on tour in Italy under the name Baby Zizanie .
In 2004 (not adam) the pre- single for his album Love was released, followed a year later by the long player. In 2005 Thirlwell played with a total of 18 musicians with the steroid Maximus at the Donaufestival in Krems and thereby fulfilled a lifelong dream.
In 2006, Thirlwell was commissioned to compose the soundtrack for the Venture Brothers series. Since then he has only released smaller productions under his name, such as Damp , a compilation that could only be bought on the official website. In 2007 a remix album for Love was released.
In 2009 the soundtrack for Venture Brothers was released, which again found more interest, both with fans and the media. His release Limb is a collection of early instrumental productions between 1980 and 1983, which have not yet been released.This album also contains a DVD with a 45-minute documentary about him, including artists such as Lydia Lunch and Blixa Bargeld from Die Einstürzenden New buildings have their say.
Towards the end of 2009 the first all-digital release called Bait was released , a best-of of the last 18 years. A few months later, The Mesopelagic Waters, the third long player of his project Manorexia, was released. In October of the same year, the fetus album Hide was finally released.
For the soundtrack of the remake of the Tim Burton classic Frankenweenie, Thirlwell produced the piece Strange Love in 2012 . The singer Karen Orzolek took over the vocal part. In the same year Thirlwell also composed the soundtrack for the low budget horror film The Blue Eyes . The new fetus album Soak was released in October 2013.
style
J. Thirlwell's musical style is often ascribed to industrial , although the range extends far beyond this musical genre. In his now 30 years of musical activity you can find styles from pop to post-punk to jazz music . It is very difficult to find a common thread based on his many projects and collaborations with other musicians. An exact classification is impossible due to the frequent stylistic inconsistencies that even occur in the same song. You can't assign your music to rock either , there are only similarities in individual song structures. He himself doesn't even want his music to be categorized. The early New York no-wave scene and the band Suicide were an important influence on J. Thirlwell.
Texts
J. Thirlwell's lyrics form an essential part of his music. He often makes use of controversial and sexually taboo topics such as incest , anal sex ( The fudge Punch ), pedophilia and abuse ( Boxhead and Someone Drowned In My Pool ), but also failure ( Instead ... I Became Anenome ) or betrayal ( I Meet You In Poland Baby ); often with an undertone of cynicism and black humor, which makes it difficult to find a personal point of view. Rather, as a listener, you can get a completely new picture of these topics, as his texts do not stir up an opinion, but rather report. Such texts can be found especially in the work of the 1980s ( Deaf , Ache , Hole , Nail and Thaw ).
Thirlwell has also often been accused of trying to spread racism and anti-Semitism with his music. He did not resist these statements, which is probably due to the fact that nihilism in every form is common in his music. Rather, he said in an interview that his texts are a product of his self-hatred and the reality that resulted for him.
Thirlwell often takes up historical events and processes them in his texts.
"Two Carps Kissin 'Inna Mississippi River - Like A Hauss On Fah! Youre 'Born To Burn !. "
.
"Well me and Stalin, we just signed a mutual non-aggression pact [...] Well I gave you a lot of slack - but all I get from you is FLAK [...] See you at your FUNERAL, baby I'll meet you in Poland, baby. "
describes treason in a relationship.
Also, some of his texts are directed against Christianity, which is clearly evident in the text "The Only Good Christian Is A Dead Christian". Also puns and allegories are used in his texts , which makes them very ambiguous. Thirlwell often satirized pop quotes with his texts:
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
becomes
"Supercalifragilisticsadomasochism"
music
The New York and London underground scene was very critical of Thirlwell's music at the beginning, the reason for this probably being the impossibility of an assignment. Characteristic of his early work was the mixture of synthetic sounds with sound snippets from existing studio material and the generation of noise with objects.
The singer of the Einstürzende Neubauten described this procedure as follows:
"Thirlwell is a reconstructor and puzzle player, he mixes, shapes and puts together existing pieces of music into completely new sound elements."
Thirlwell described this type of music-making as "using the studio as an instrument": everything that can produce sound becomes a tool and finds a place in his sound carriers. This creates multifaceted soundscapes with an atonal sound, as can be heard on the first two albums Deaf and Ache . Stylistically, these two albums could best be attributed to trash , although the structure of his songs also bore clear characteristics of minimal electro .
On his third album Hole , Thirlwell concentrated on synthetic guitar imitations, but the basic structure of his songs remained the same as on the previous albums .
Since Nail at least , Thirlwell's music could no longer be classified as post-punk. On this album he combined many different styles of music with each other, often even in a single song ( Descent Into The Inferno ), used violins and released his first instrumental pieces, which are reminiscent of film soundtracks. Many songs have the structures of rock songs and can at best be classified as alternative rock, which is also very difficult to say. On his Wiseblood album he ended up in the dark corners of the New Wave from the 1970s, the music was produced completely synthetically and in part imitates the engine noises of motor vehicles . On various collaborations with other musicians, Thirlwell tried electropop ( slut ), before devoting himself more to alternative and avant-garde with Thaw .
In the 1990s he changed his style again and mainly worked with big band sound coupled with the industrial style from the 1980s, so it was on Gash that real instruments such as drums and electric guitar were used for the first time . In his two latest albums, Flow and Love , he focused primarily on wind instruments , guitars were almost completely left out.
Others
Activity as a remixer
Since Thirlwell was well known by other artists, he was often hired as a remixer. His best-known works include remixes by bands and artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers , Front 242 , Nine Inch Nails , Marilyn Manson and Pantera , altogether he mixed songs from more than 30 different musicians and bands, especially in the 1990s.
Relationship with other musicians
In the first years of his musical activity he met other artists of the no-wave and post-punk scene such as Nick Cave , Lydia Lunch and Marc Almond, with whom he still maintains friendly contact today. Collaborations and publications emerged again and again. Through his work as a remixer, he also met mainstream artists and developed a friendship with Marilyn Manson, for example, which continues to this day. The front man of Samsa's dream Alexander Kaschte sees Thirlwell as a great role model and dedicated the song Ein Foetus wie du on the album Tineoidea to him . In 2010, the band Swans dedicated the song Jim on their album My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope To The Sky .
Other activities
During his musical career, Thirlwell also worked as a graphic artist, for example, he designed some covers for the music magazine Exit Art . For many years he was employed as a sound installer for the music broadcaster MTV and he produced the entire soundtrack for the series The Venture Brothers . Between 1997 and 2001 he was employed as DJ OTEFSU (An Anagram of Fetus ) in various clubs in New York .
Fetus On The Beach
In the years 1981-82 a triple LP called Foetus On The Beach was announced and, according to information from the label Self Immolation, already finished. The name was an adaptation of Philip Glass' opera Einstein on the Beach , the triple LP should contain both instrumentals and real songs and should be published in an edition of 1000 pieces. The triple LP already had a die number but was never released. Some of the instrumental tracks were later made available to the public elsewhere on compilations such as Sink , Damp and Limb . It is not known which and how many tracks should have appeared otherwise.
Discography
Thirlwell publishes its productions and collaborations under a variety of names. He also changed the name of his main object frequently, although only the term fetus has been used since 1993 . The following name combinations were previously used: Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel, Foetus Art Terrorism, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath, Foetus Over Frisco, Foetus über Frisco, Foetus über Alles, Foetus Under Glass, Phillip And His Foetus Vibrations, Foetus In Your Bed, Foetus Flesh, The Foetus All Nude Revue, Foetus On The Beach and The Foetus Of Excellence. He also frequently pursued side projects with other artists, for which he mainly used the name Clint Ruin .
Main albums
- 1981 Deaf
- 1982 Ache
- 1984 Hole
- 1985 Nail
- 1988 Thaw
- 1995 Gash
- 2001 flow
- 2005 Love
- 2010 Hide
- 2013 Soak
Live, remix albums and compilations
- 1983 Foetus On The Beach (Unreleased)
- 1988 Rife (live album, limited edition in picture vinyl to 500 copies, double 12 "LP to 1,500 copies and CD to 4,000 copies)
- 1989 Sink (compilation from the EPs from the 1980s)
- 1992 times (double live album)
- 1996 Boil (live album)
- 1996 Null / Void (double album with remixes)
- 2001 Blow (remix album for Flow)
- 2006 Damp (collection of unpublished B-sides)
- 2007 Vein (remix album for LOVE)
- 2009 Limb (compilation of the early instrumentals written between 1980 and 1983)
- 2009 Bait (only published digitally, contains a best-of from 1992–2009)
Singles and EPs
- 1981 Spite Your Face (7 "single, limited to 1000 copies)
- 1981 Wash It All Off (7 "single, limited to 1000 copies)
- 1982 Tell Me What Is The Bane Of Your Life (7 "single, limited to 2000 copies)
- 1982 Costum Built For Capitalism (12 "EP, limited to 1000 copies)
- 1984 Calamity Crush (12 "EP)
- 1984 Wash / Slog (12 "EP)
- 1984 Finely Honed Machine (12 "EP, limited to 3000 copies)
- 1987 Bedrock (12 "EP)
- 1987 Ramrod / Boxhead (12 "EP)
- 1990 Butterfly Potion (12 "EP and CD-Maxi)
- 1995 Null (CD-Maxi)
- 1996 Verklemmt / Be Thankfull (7 "Pic-Vinyl)
- 1996 Supersonic 1996 (7 "vinyl, together with Stereolab and Faust , limited to 2000 copies)
- 2004 (not adam) (CD-Maxi)
Other publications of the fetus series
- 1984 Anxiety Attack (7 "red clear vinyl, was sent to DJs and radio stations, but could also be bought at concerts)
- 1985 The Foetus Of Excellence (box including T-shirt for the Foetus records, limited to 836 copies)
- 1990 Somnambbulumdrum (Flexi, insert of a magazine)
- 1990 Volgarity (Flexi, magazine insert)
- 1993 In Excselsis Corruptus Deluxe (Live VHS, re-released as DVD in 2002)
As Wiseblood
- 1985 Motorslug (12 "EP)
- 1986 Someone Drowned In My Pool (12 "EP)
- 1987 Dirtdish (album)
- 1991 PTTM (12 "EP and CD-Maxi)
As a steroid Maximus
- 1991 Quilombo (album)
- 1992 Gondwanaland (album)
- 2002 Ectopia (album)
As manorexia
- 2001 Volvox Turbo (album)
- 2002 The Radiolarian Ooze (album)
- 2010 The Mesopelagic Waters (album)
- 2011 The Dinoflagellate Blooms (double album with bonusdvd in Dolby Surround Sound)
Together with Lydia Lunch
- 1987 Stinkfist (12 "EP)
- 1991 Don't Fear The Reaper (12 "EP)
- 1997 York (CD-EP)
Other publications
- 1987 Slut (12 "EP together with Marc Almond under the name The Flesh Volcano )
- 1990 Powerhouse (7 "vinyl, as Garage Monsters)
- 1993 Safari To Mumbooba (10 "vinyl, as Garage Monsters)
- 1994 Vice Squad Dick (CD EP, with the Chrome Cranks )
- 2001 Thalassaphobia (12 "EP as Baby Zizanie, limited to 500 copies)
- 2009 The Venture Bros. The Music of J. Thirlwell (Soundtrack to the series The Venture Brothers , composed by J. Thirlwell)
- 2010 Hydroze Plus (10 "EP with Fred Bigot )
- 2011 Santarcangelo (7 "single with Teho Teardro )
- 2013 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack JG Thirlwell (Soundtrack for The Blue Eyes)
Guest Posts
- 1981 saxophone in the piece Seedy Films on the album Non-Stop-Erotic-Cabaret by Soft Cell
- 1981 Synthesizer on the album Insect and Individual Silenced by Nurse with Wound
- 1983 saxophone in the piece rip it up on the album Rip It Up of Orange Juice
- 1984 Drums in the piece From Her To Eternity on the album From Her To Eternity by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- 1994 Synthesizer on the album Portrait of an American Family by Marilyn Manson
- 1999 saxophone in the piece Funhouse on the album Live 1981-82 of The Birthday Party
literature
- David Keenan: England's Hidden Reverse: A Secret History of the Esoteric Underground . SAF, Wembley 2004, ISBN 0-946719-67-5 .
- George Petros: Art That Kills. Creation Books, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-84068-140-6 .
Web links
- "Foetus" website
- JG Thirlwell in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nihilism in the guise of a big band . In: Berliner Zeitung , October 5, 2001
- ↑ report fm4v2.orf.at (accessed on September 16, 2009)
- ↑ a b micksinclair.com (accessed December 7, 2009)
- ↑ derstandard.at (accessed December 7, 2009)
- ↑ Discography on foetus.org under "more information": (accessed December 7, 2009)
- ↑ a b c hairentertainment.com ( Memento of the original dated November 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed December 12, 2009)
- ↑ foetus.org (accessed December 12, 2009)
- ↑ foetus.org (accessed December 12, 2009)
- ↑ foetus.org (accessed December 12, 2009)
- ↑ report of the 2005 kremser donaufestival: skug.at (accessed on September 16, 2009)
- ↑ News on foetus.org (accessed November 12, 2009)
- ↑ allmusic.com: [1] (accessed December 20, 2009)
- ↑ [2] allmusic.com (accessed December 20, 2009)
- ↑ fabryka.darknation.eu ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed December 20, 2009)
- ↑ allmusic.com (accessed December 20, 2009)
- ↑ a b foetus.org (accessed December 20, 2009)
- ↑ tineoidea.de (accessed December 20, 2009)
- ↑ foetus.org (accessed December 20, 2009)
- ↑ Abbreviation for "Pedal To The Metal"
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thirlwell, JG |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thirlwell, James George (full name); Fetus (pseudonym) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian musician and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 29, 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Melbourne , Australia |