Foetus

Foetus is the primary musical outlet of industrial music pioneer J. G. Thirlwell. Until 1995 the band underwent various name changes, all including the word foetus. Monikers adopted at different times include Foetus Under Glass, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath and Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel. After 1995 the name permanently became Foetus, though the related project The Foetus Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1997 and continues.

Thirlwell acts as the sole instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and producer for all Foetus works and as such is the only member of the band. Other artists may occasionally collaborate with Thirlwell on Foetus works but are not considered members of Foetus. Thirlwell is solely responsible for the musical output of the band.

J. G. Thirlwell has many side-projects, in which he frequently goes by the name Clint Ruin. One such grouping is Wiseblood with former Swans member Roli Mosimann. The material tends toward the realm of the darkest and most sexual Foetus songs, with Mosimann's Swans lineage showing in the slow, crushing pacing of many tracks. Thematically, Wiseblood's lyrics center around the misanthropic exertion of power, typically via murder, sex or assault. Wiseblood existed on-and-off from the mid 1980s through early 1990s.

Videos

Foetus's videos have been directed and contributed to by artists such as Karen O, Spike Jonze, Sam Sohlberg, Matt Bass and many others.

Discography

Studio albums

• Deaf – You’ve Got Foetus on Your Breath (1981)
• Ache – You’ve Got Foetus on Your Breath (1982)
• Hole – Scraping Foetus off the Wheel (1984)
• Nail – Scraping Foetus off the Wheel (1985)
• Thaw – Foetus Interruptus (1988)
• Gash – Foetus (1995)
• York (First Exit to Brooklyn) – The Foetus Symphony Orchestra feat. Lydia Lunch (1997)
• Flow – Foetus (2001)
• Love – Foetus (2005)
• Hide – Foetus (2010)

Live, remix and compilation albums

• Rife – Foetus Corruptus (1988)
• Sink – Foetus Inc. (1989)
• Male – Foetus in Excelsis Corruptus Deluxe (1992)
• Boil – Foetus (1996)
• Blow – Foetus (2001)
• Damp – Foetus (2006)
• Vein – Foetus (2007)
• Limb – Foetus (2009)

EPs, singles and miscellaneous

• Spite Your Face/OKFM – Foetus Under Glass (1981)
• Wash It All Off – You've Got Foetus on Your Breath (1981)
• Tell Me, What Is the Bane of Your Life – Phillip and His Foetus Vibrations (1982)
• Custom Built for Capitalism – Foetus Over Frisco (1982)
• Calamity Crush – Foetus Art Terrorism (1984)
• Wash/Slog – You've Got Foetus on Your Breath (1985)
• Finely Honed Machine – Foetus Über Frisco (1985)
• The Foetus of Excellence – The Foetus of Excellence (1985)
• Bedrock – Foetus All-Nude Revue (1987)
• Ramrod – Scraping Foetus off the Wheel (1987)
• Butterfly Potion – Foetus Inc. (1990)
• Somnambulumdrum – Foetus Inc. (1992)
• Vice Squad Dick – Foetus/Chrome Cranks (1994)
• Null – Foetus (1995)
• Verklemmt/Be Thankful – Foetus (1995)
• Überschall 1996 – Foetus/Faust/Stereolab (1996)
• Null/Void – Foetus (1996)
• (not adam) – Foetus (2004)

Conceptual themes

All full-length Foetus album titles are four-letter, one-syllable words, often with multiple connotations.

The artwork of Foetus releases shows a deliberate progression of colour: the earliest releases are black and white, with the addition of red on the Deaf album, and further addition of yellow on Nail. Full-color art was introduced on Gash. [1] Beginning with Flow, the artwork of primary albums reverted to black/white/red, though other releases continue in full colour.

External links

• Official Home Page
• 1995 Interview with J.G Thirlwell.
• U.K article
• Interview @ Legends
• freq_out
• Official Myspace page for "Llik your idols", a documentary about the Cinema of Transgression featuring Foetus