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James George Thirlwell (born 29 January 1960), styled as JG Thirlwell and also known as Clint Ruin, Frank Want, and
Foetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...
, among other
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
s, is an Australian musician, composer, and record producer known for juxtaposing a variety of different musical styles.


Life and career

Thirlwell was born in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. He briefly studied fine art at Melbourne State College (now part of the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
) before moving in 1978 to London, England, where he played with the
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band prag VEC and formed the first of his numerous musical projects,
Foetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...
. In the 1980s, under the pseudonyms Clint Ruin and Frank Want, he contributed to various releases by Nurse With Wound,
Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...
,
The The are an English rock band from London, formed in 1979 by singer-songwriter Matt Johnson, the only constant member, and often the sole member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, seven reaching ...
and
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a Rock music, rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by lead vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throug ...
. He co-wrote "Wings Off Flies" on '' From Her to Eternity'', the first Bad Seeds album. Longtime
Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
associate
Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The ...
would later report that Thirlwell's time in the band was cut short, in part, by a clash between Thirlwell's highly structured studio routine as contrasted with Cave and the Bad Seeds' then habit of "shambling through it" while recording.Wray, Daniel Dylan (2014
"If This Is Heaven I'm Bailing Out: The Death Of The Birthday Party"
''The Quietus'', accessed 5 January 2017
Thirlwell released his first
7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...
, ''OKFM/Spite Your Face'', in 1981, on his own Self-Immolation record label in his first incarnation as Foetus. Over the next few years he would release two more singles, a 12" EP, and four full-length albums, ''
Deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
'', '' Ache'', ''
Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...
'' and ''
Nail Nail or Nails may refer to: In biology * Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal or human digit, such as fingernail * Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue a ...
'' (Some Bizzare Records). After visiting the United States during a live stint with the Immaculate Consumptive (
Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...
, Nick Cave and Marc Almond) Thirlwell settled in New York City, where he is still based. Since his move he has released several singles, fourteen EPs (including ''Stinkfist'', with fellow New York artist Lydia Lunch), and seventeen full-length albums. In addition to being a prolific artist in his own right, Thirlwell has remixed and produced numerous pieces for artists including
Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
,
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
,
Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...
,
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spen ...
, The The,
Zola Jesus Nika Roza Danilova (born Nicole Rose Hummel; April 11, 1989), known professionally by her stage name Zola Jesus, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music has been noted for combining elements of electronic, industrial, ...
,
Front 242 Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they influenced the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation Front 242 were for ...
, and Swans. He has also done voice-over work for
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
and other entities. Since 2000, Thirlwell has become more active as a composer, having written commissions for
Bang on a Can Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted contemporary classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon. Called "the c ...
, League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, and the
Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...
, and scoring cartoons ''
The Venture Bros. ''The Venture Bros.'' is an American adult animated action comedy television series created by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. Following a pilot episode on February 16, 2003, the s ...
'' for
Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as
dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...
and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
and ''
Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...
'' for FX. His most recent project was scoring the
John Hodgman John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as his satirical trilogy '' The Areas of My Expertise'', '' More Information Than You Require'', and '' That Is ...
and David Rees cartoon detective show '' Dicktown''. He also revived his primary instrumental project, Steroid Maximus, and initiated a more experimental instrumental project in Manorexia. He continues to write and perform regularly as a solo artist and with various ensembles. He is also a member of the freq_out sound art collective, and has created solo sound installations in Kaliningrad, Santarcangelo and Vienna.


Music

Thirlwell's music—released under his various project names of
Foetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...
, Wiseblood, Steroid Maximus, Baby Zizanie, Manorexia and others—includes elements of
20th-century classical music 20th-century classical music is Western art music that was written between the years 1901 and 2000, inclusive. Musical style diverged during the 20th century as it never had previously, so this century was without a dominant style. Modernism, i ...
,
noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...
,
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
,
Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
, African and Cuban percussion, and epic/horror film soundtracks. Much of Thirlwell's aural output is built on a percussive, rock music-type structure, though to call it rock music would be inaccurate. His music employs elements of many genres: with an often frenzied aesthetic, Thirlwell's music combines percussion, strings, distortion, brass, electric guitars, electronic sounds and voice. Recurring lyrical themes include destruction, persecution, anxiety, abuse, incest, masochism, angst, self-destruction, self-abuse, lust, prejudice, murder, failure and machismo, often expressed using American colloquialism and
black humour Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
.


Musical projects

*
Foetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...
: Thirlwell's main project. From 1981's single "OKFM" until 2013's "Soak", most Foetus songs featured lead vocals. Though popularly known as simply "Foetus", Thirlwell released albums under diverse variations of the name, including: Foetus Art Terrorism; Foetus Über Frisco; Foetus Corruptus; Foetus In Excelsis Corruptus Deluxe; Foetus Inc.; Foetus Interruptus; Foetus Over Frisco; Foetus Under Glass; Philip and His Foetus Vibrations; Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel; The Foetus All-Nude Revue; The Foetus of Excellence; The Foetus Symphony Orchestra; and You've Got Foetus On Your Breath. * Steroid Maximus: Primary instrumental project. Collaboration with
Raymond Watts Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...
. *Manorexia: Experimental instrumental project. * Wiseblood: Collaboration with
Roli Mosimann Roli Mosimann (7 November 1955 – 15 September 2024) was a Swiss-born American drummer, electronic musician, and record producer who worked in genres ranging from industrial to pop. Originally from Switzerland, Mosimann first came to attenti ...
. *
Flesh Volcano The Flesh Volcano was a side project of singer Marc Almond and Clint Ruin, also known as Foetus. Its sole release was the ''Slut'' EP, which was expanded to album length in a number of reissues. Almond and Ruin were formerly bandmates in the Im ...
: Collaboration with
Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...
. *Baby Zizanie: Collaboration with Jim Coleman. *Hydroze Plus: Collaboration with Electronicat. *Garage Monsters: Collaboration with skater artist the P!zz. (
Sympathy for the Record Industry Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by John Mermis, known as Long Gone John. Notable artists who started on Sympathy and went ...
) *
The Immaculate Consumptive The Immaculate Consumptive was a collaborative group featuring four musicians of the no wave scene, that existed for three shows in 1983.Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Alternative Rock'', Miller Freeman, , p.425 Its members were Marc Almond, Nick Cave, L ...
: Touring ensemble with
Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...
,
Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
, and Marc Almond *''
The Venture Bros. ''The Venture Bros.'' is an American adult animated action comedy television series created by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. Following a pilot episode on February 16, 2003, the s ...
'': Musical score by Thirlwell. *''
Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...
'': Musical score by Thirlwell from Season 7 onwards. *Xordox: Thirlwell's new instrumental project. *''Dicktown'': Musical score by Thirlwell. 2020 animated show with David Rees and
John Hodgman John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as his satirical trilogy '' The Areas of My Expertise'', '' More Information Than You Require'', and '' That Is ...


Aliases

Throughout the span of his career, Thirlwell has toyed with his own identity by releasing music in the guise of numerous
alter egos An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
. During the earliest phases of his recording, Thirlwell's "groups" were composed of a plethora of fictional characters: Foetus Under Glass supposedly consisted of Frank Want, Phillip Toss and two Brazilian statistics collectors; Scraping Foetus off the Wheel was claimed to be the work of Want and Clint Ruin. Furthering the confusion, Thirlwell adopted these personas outside of his own recordings; for example, Frank Want can be found on The The's ''
Soul Mining ''Soul Mining'' is the debut studio album by the English post-punk and synth-pop band . Matt Johnson, the lead singer and songwriter behind , began recording the album in New York City, after a bidding war between major record labels resulted in ...
'' and on releases by
Orange Juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange (fruit), orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As ...
, with whom he appeared on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
''. The persona of Clint Ruin was particularly notable in this context; during the mid-1980s and early 1990s Thirlwell exclusively went by this pseudonym, even conducting interviews as Ruin. As Ruin, Thirlwell was a member of Wiseblood with
Roli Mosimann Roli Mosimann (7 November 1955 – 15 September 2024) was a Swiss-born American drummer, electronic musician, and record producer who worked in genres ranging from industrial to pop. Originally from Switzerland, Mosimann first came to attenti ...
and
Flesh Volcano The Flesh Volcano was a side project of singer Marc Almond and Clint Ruin, also known as Foetus. Its sole release was the ''Slut'' EP, which was expanded to album length in a number of reissues. Almond and Ruin were formerly bandmates in the Im ...
with
Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...
. He also recorded two collaborative EPs with Lydia Lunch, and starred in and scored films by Richard Kern under the Ruin alias. Ruin is also credited on numerous releases for a variety of roles with
Boss Hog Boss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer (guitar) and Cristina Martinez (vocals) along with Jens Jurgensen (bass), Hollis Queens (drums) and Mickey Finn (keyboard). The band achieved some noto ...
, Coil, Fur Bible, Annie Hogan, Nurse With Wound,
Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the '' In Case You Didn't Fee ...
,
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
, Workdogs and others. This practice seems to have been discontinued since 1995, and "JG Thirlwell" is credited on all subsequent musical recordings.


Discography


References

Notes Further reading *Kassaveti, Ursula-Helen (2015). Foetus-Art-Terrorism: Deciphering Genre, Intertextuality and Noise in JG Thirlwell's early Musical Corpus (1981-1988). Punk & Post-Punk 3 (2): 147–158. Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/17340315/Kassaveti_U.-H._2015_._Foetus-Art-Terrorism_Deciphering_Genre_Intertextuality_and_Noise_in_JG_Thirlwell_s_early_Musical_Corpus_1981-1988_._Punk_and_Post-Punk_3_2_147-158 (Last Access: 28.6.2019) * * * ::Interviews * (2001)
JG Thirlwell Biography/Discography
at
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...
(2001)
JG Thirlwell interview at The Corporate Mofo
(2002)
JG Thirlwell interview at Popshifter
(2008)
JG Thirlwell interview at Allaboutjazz
(2010)
JG Thirlwell interview at Brainwashed
(2010)
JG Thirlwell interview at The Quietus
(2011)
JG Thirlwell album analysis article at Dangerous Minds
(2013)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thirlwell, J. G. 1960 births Living people Australian male composers Australian expatriates in England Australian electronic musicians Australian industrial musicians Industrial musicians Musicians from Melbourne Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds members Pigface members Coil (band) members Ipecac Recordings artists Marc and the Mambas members The Immaculate Consumptive members Tzadik Records artists Thirsty Ear Recordings artists Rough Trade Records artists