Founder, leader of Foetus and Steroid Maximus

Former member of Nurse With Wound, Coil

An Australian native, James George Thirlwell relocated to London in 1978 and played briefly with the post-punk synth-pop group pragVEC before releasing the first Foetal-titled record (Foetus Under Glass' 'OKFM'/'Spite Your Face' 7") in 1981, and in the same year collaborated with Come on the 'I'm Jack' LP. Since then, Thirlwell has been a prolific and varied artist, moving to New York City and releasing no less than 23 works under 14 Foetus-related band names to date (most recently simply as Foetus), not to mention those of his side projects (Wiseblood, Steroid Maximus, Garage Monsters, and as Clint Ruin with Lydia Lunch, to name a few). He has collaborated with artists such as Nurse With Wound, Coil, Marc Almond, The The, Voi-vod, Pig, and many others, and his works have also appeared on many compilations. Thirlwell has also done a good deal of remixing; reworking and distorting the sounds of EMF, The Cranes, Jarboe, NIN, Orange Juice, PWEI, and Front 242, again to name but a few, in addition to his contributions to other artists in the way of production and mixing.
[by Daniel Jones]