Foetus Interruptus

Real Name:
James George Thirlwell (also Jim Thirlwell or J.G. Thirlwell)
Profile:
Native of Melbourne, Australia, J.G. (James George) (Jim) Thirlwell conceived the basic Foetus concept, when he relocated to London in 1978. His first appearance on record is with the post-punk synth-pop group pragVEC; the first Foetus release "OKFM / Spite Your Face" appeared in January 1981 on Thirlwell's own Self Immolation label. Relocated this time to New York City in 1984, he operates since then under many monikers: mainly Foetus, but also Wiseblood (with Roli Mosimann of Swans), Steroid Maximus, Garage Monsters (with skater artist The Pizz), Flesh Volcano (teamed with Marc Almond of Soft Cell), Baby Zizanie (a duo with "Cripple" Jim Coleman of Cop Shoot Cop), DJ Otefsu (his DJ'ing alter-ego), and Manorexia. Thirlwell has also produced, (re)mixed and/or performed on vast quantities of recordings including many of the releases on Lydia Lunch's Widowspeak label and artists as diverse as The The, Nurse With Wound, Pantera, Virgin Prunes, Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Coil, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arto Lindsay, Marc Almond, Front 242 and countless others. Thirlwell did the voice-overs for MTV Sports and his music has been used in numerous MTV series shows (i.e.: The Real World, Road Rules), has composed music for The Venture Bros. on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, and composed "bumpers" (30-second lead-in / lead-out music) for M2 / MTV2.
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Artist

Shortcut Code: [a5125]
Data Quality Rating: Correct

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Discography

Releases:
Thaw (Album) (7 versions)   Self Immolation ... 1988
'Sink' (CD, Comp, Dig)   Some Bizzare 2007
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Reviews & Discussion

Review by marc23133 Aug 20, 2009
Genius is a much overused word in the music world, but it barely comes close to describing the magnificent and utterly unique Jim Thirlwell. It amazes me that his talent is not spoken of or written about or recognised in the same breath as only a very select few are - lee perry, george clinton, prince, even james brown and phil spector.

Jim certainly deserves to be up there, his early releases are must haves, simply for their sheer energy and virtuosity (in terms of musicality and production).





Review by DougieBoomBoom Jul 24, 2005 (edited over 4 years ago)
When the Queen remasters where being made he was approached to do the remixes that are featured at the end of each cd and for quite a large sum of money. However, he turned it down because he wasn't intersted. Now that's punk rock.
Review by Richard_23 Jan 27, 2005 (edited over 4 years ago)
Foetus is not "huge," relatively speaking, because the industry does not view Thirlwell's gift as a commercial product that can be sold (dumped) in bulk like "hit" driven top-40 drivel. JGT launched and released material on Self Immolation when existing labels expressed no interest in his recordings. He somehow managed to be every bit as powerful and uncompromising live when I saw him in Seattle maybe eight years ago. The boot shaped bruise on my former roomate's forehead from a Clint Ruin headkick was enough to get me to the next show. Oh yeah, baby!

"I'll Meet You in Poland Baby," "Anything," "The Throne of Agony," Wiseblood's "0-0 Where Evil Dwells" are personal favorites that never get old. "Wash It All Off" and dammit, every Foetus track deserves special mention as well. Thirlwell is the real deal: authentic, original, unforgettable.

Helpful tip for virgins: It's not loud enough, turn it up. That's why you're perplexed. You'll know when it's right, you'll feel it.
Review by mudslut23 Aug 09, 2003
Why isn't this guy huge! He influenced everybody. Foetus means alot to me. His early sonic explorations were always on my mixtapes. Plus his lyrics were deranged, ironic and super clever. He employed the use of sampling early on. His collaborations with Lydia Lunch were amazing and his remixes for all those metal bands (Prong, White Zombie, Pantera, etc...) were ground breaking. An absolute genius.
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YouTube Videos

FOETUS ART TERRORISM - Calamity Crush - 1984