Biography
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Born
29 January 1960 (age 64)
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Born In
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
J.G. Thirlwell is an abbreviation of James George Thirlwell (b. 29 Jan 1960 in Melbourne, Australia - aka: Clint Ruin, Frank Want, Foetus, Jim Foetus, Foetus Art Terrorism, Foetus Under Glass, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath and Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel), a Brooklyn, USA, based rock composer, vocalist, producer, performer and multi-instrumentalist whose work may be broadly categorised in the no wave and Industrial music genres.
Whilst in Melbourne he studied art at Melbourne State College for two years before moving to London in 1978. After working with experimental group Nurse With Wound, JG started making his own records in 1980, initially releasing them with his own label,Self Immolation. He was inspired by the post-punk explosion of creativity in the UK which engendered the accessibility of DIY, and the writings of John Cage and systems music,among other things. He then relocated to NYC in 1983 where he still lives in Brooklyn.
JG’s catalog is extensive,under many pseudonyms including Foetus, Steroid Maximus, Manorexia, Baby Zizanie, Wiseblood, Clint Ruin and others.If there is a common thread to his varied musical styles it is a dramatic intensity and an evocative, cinematic quality. He considers the studio his main instrument. His oeuvre stretches the gamut from orchestrations, big band and sound sculpture, cathartic noise-rock to abstract electronics, chamber music, serial music and imaginary soundtracks - sometimes all in the same album.
In recent years,with commissions for Kronos Quartet and Bang On A Can, and in his occasional eighteen piece ensemble he has been increasingly interested electronically and sample generated music being rescored for traditional instrumentation played both conventionally and not. JG is also a member of the “freq_out” sound-art collective, who create on-site sound and light installations led by curator Carl Michael Von Hausswolf . Most recently he has been performing with a chamber ensemble version of Manorexia. JG also scores “The Venture Brothers”, a hit cartoon show on Adult Swim/Cartoon Network.
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