JG Thirlwell Returning To New Zealand In September

Pioneering figure of the post-punk / avant-industrial underground, JG Thirlwell is returning to Aotearoa for two special audio-visual events in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara, brought to you by the champs at Audio Foundation and Pyramid Club. Born in Melbourne and based in Brooklyn NYC since 1983, the sonically uncompromising artist's vast oeuvre includes eleven studio albums under his multi-faceted Foetus moniker from 1981 onwards, along with numerous long players as Steroid Maximus, Manorexia, his own name and more. An in-demand collaborator, Thirlwell has recorded with Nick Cave, Marc Almond, Coil, Nurse With Wound, Einstürzende Neubauten, Lydia Lunch, Swans, Pantera, Nine Inch Nails, Melvins, Arto Lyndsay and even Red Hot Chili Peppers. Thirlwell has composed works for Kronos Quartet and Bang On A Can, while his soundtrack credits include the award-winning musical score for Adult Swim / Cartoon Network's The Venture Bros and Tony Oursler's film Imponderable.

For his forthcoming events at Audio Foundation and Meow, Thirlwell will perform his surround sound project Silver Mantis, featuring projected visuals by Swedish artist Sten Backman — here are the official details...

"The 50 minute electro-acoustic piece, performed with prepared piano, software, sampling and theremin, is an immersive multi channel composition. Incorporating musique concrète and electronic sound along with live instrumentation, the composition is dynamic, cinematic and diverse with stylistic left-turns, creating a tension between time and anxiety. Acclaimed Swedish artist, Sten Backman, has created a moving image work exclusively for Silver Mantis which will be projected alongside the music at the performance."

JG Thirlwell
Thursday 14th September - Meow, Wellington w/ Te Kupu/Daniel Beban
Friday 15th September - Audio Foundation, Auckland
Tickets available HERE via UTR

Watch a trailer for JG Thirlwell's recent Silver Mantis performance at Timucua in Orlando, Florida...

Press release:

Pyramid Club and Audio Foundation are very happy to present visionary ‘avant-industrial’ composer, producer and performer JG Thirlwell live in NZ.

From his art-damaged post-punk beginnings in Melbourne and London in the late 1970s, Thirlwell has performed under a gamut of aliases inlcuding FOETUS, STERIOD MAXIMUS, BABY ZIZANIE, WISEBLOOD, DJ OETFSU, GARAGE MONSTERS, FLESH VOLCANO, IMMACULATE CONSUMPTIVE and CLINT RUIN.

Since his early years he’s been a key collaborator with seminal artists such as NICE CAVE, MARC ALMOND, COIL, NURSE WITH WOUND, THE THE, LYDIA LUNCH and SWANS, PANTERA, NINE INCH NAILS, WHITE ZOMBIE, JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, ARTO LYNDSAY, MELVINS and countless others.

Based in Brooklyn NYC since 1983, his music over the past four decades has retained a dramatic intensity and evocative, cinematic quality. His 30+ albums display a diverse sound palette including elements of 20th-century classical music, noise, jazz, punk, African percussion and industrial performance art. More recently JG has completed composition commissions for avant classical groups including Kronos Quartet, Bang On A Can and the String Orchestra of Brooklyn.