Crushing the Mold: An Interview with JG Thirlwell

Posted in Art, Interviews, Music, Underground/Cult |

You seem to have too many ideas floating around under the red tuft and not enough time, so how do you stay focused on one thing, so you are able to actually finish it? Do you work in long spurts of energy where you have to shut the rest of the world out in order to for any one idea to take shape, or do you have conflicting melodies in your head that you try to multi-task at once?
I work on many projects at once, and bounce from one to the other. I multi-task, running my life at the same time. I like to work as far in advance as possible—I don’t wait until the last minute. I also usually work seven days a week.

JGT: Manorexia at The Stone, NYC 2006
Photo © Julie Finley

Does your NYC environment distract you from getting work done?
Not really. The energy nourishes me. I like having the option of a lot to see and do even if I don’t get out to everything.

Do you have days where you wake up and actually have a day without a fixed schedule, hence having the time to work, but you sit down in front of your workstation, and the mind just goes blank?
When I am traveling I sometimes have a non-fixed schedule. Otherwise, because I am very busy I can’t remember when I haven’t had a day where I’ve had a lot of things planned. I usually know what I’m going to be doing but there’s flexibility within that. The older I get the more precious time becomes.

Anyone reading this interview has read about your influences already (so I won’t insult your intelligence by making you answer that again), but I’m curious as to what musical contemporaries currently impress you, as in, have you recently discovered anything you would deem as mind-blowing?
How can anyone possibly know my influences? Even I don’t. My influences may not necessarily show themselves in my art!

I’m not sure whom I consider contemporaries even. . .

Off the top of my head, some “contemporary rock” acts operating today that engaged me lately include Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, Wolf Eyes, Beirut, Services, Dirty Projectors, The Zs, Danielson, Xiu Xiu, Extra Life, plus many more.

But I guess I mainly I listen to classical, psychedelia, prog, soundtracks, and international music.

Are you fluent in French or do you know just enough to get your point across? Did you write you lyrics for “Mon Agonie Douce” [from 2005's LOVE album] and then have them translated?
I speak French all right, enough to have basic conversation.

I wrote the lyrics for “Mon Agonie Douce” in French and had a French friend correct my grammar.

Any other languages you have fluency in?
I also speak German ein bischen and would like to learn Spanish. (For the song “Chingada,” [from THAW, 1987] I had Martin Bisi translate the lyrics, although my finding the word “Chingada” was the catalyst.)

Narcissum Escenda
Photo © Maya Hardinge

What is Der Kastanienball, and how did you get involved in it?
It was an opera directed by Stefan Winter of the record label Winter and Winter.

He invited Noël Akchoté to be musical director and Noël invited me.

Is that something that is available on audio format, or even possibly video?
A soundtrack album was released on Winter and Winter.

So what is Der Kastanienball about?
Stefan wanted it to be an experimental opera that pushed boundaries. There were a lot of ideas in it. I feel some of the ideas got compromised along the way by the diva-ish actions of the leads. It was interesting and sometimes uncomfortable to do. The musicians were top notch! It played for three nights in the Opera House in Munich.

When you do your graphic art, do you do it all by hand (older mechanical methods) and then re-translate them to current digital mediums? Have you had a chance to learn the Adobe software suite, or just bits and pieces of what you need? You’ve mentioned you keep one foot in the future and one in the stone age when it comes to music technology. . . does that ring true with your artwork as well?
Sometimes I do sketches that I scan but generally start right in with Photoshop.

I used to do everything by hand, including layer separation and hand lettering.

Since you were part of the Exit Art exhibit, and now recently the Love’s Secret Domain one, have you thought of doing a solo show?
I just finished a sculpture for a group show in Östersund, Sweden [the Teleport Färgfabfriken exhibition at the new Färgfabriken museum]. It’s called “Narcissum Escenda,” and the materials are plywood, programmed circuit board with 30 LEDs and plexi glass mirrors, and two-way mirror and silver mylar. There is no sound element.

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Click to read more from JG Thirlwell on. . .

LEMUR, Strings of Consciousness, Elysian Fields
Current favorites, Der Kastanienball, “Narcissum Escenda”
freq_out, Baby Zizanie, Christian Marclay, Chloé Delaume
Afflictions, shoes, and sunglasses

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