Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Brain Dead Studios, Los Angeles
# JG Thirlwell – Heaven and Earth Magic In 2024 JG Thirlwell was commissioned by L’Etrange Film Festival in Paris to create an exclusive live score to the Harry Smith film *Heaven And Earth Magic*. The newly-created score was performed by Thirlwell using electronics, triggered samples and theremin, in surround sound. On October 19, 2025 Thirlwell will be performing this unique project live at Brain Dead Studios Los Angeles in its exclusive West Coast premiere. ## The Film *Heaven and Earth Magic* is a 65-minute 1962 avant-garde stop-motion animation. Its surreal imagery, drawn from cutups of 19th century catalogs, has a mystical and hypnotic quality that has entranced viewers for decades. The legendary Harry Smith was an American polymath, credited as an artist, experimental filmmaker, bohemian, mystic, record collector, curator, student of anthropology and a Neo-Gnostic bishop. ## Opening Film The evening will open with a rare screening of Thirlwell’s 11-minute film *Sonder*, commissioned by the Frekvens Film Symposium in Gotland, Sweden in 2018. *Sonder* was conceived, directed and scored by Thirlwell and filmed by Sebastian Mlynarski. ## About JG Thirlwell JG Thirlwell is a composer/producer/performer based in Brooklyn, NY. Born in Melbourne, he moved to London in 1978, then relocated to NYC in 1983, where he has been based ever since. As well as his own name, he works under many pseudonyms including Manorexia, Foetus, Xordox, Steroid Maximus, Baby Zizanie, Hydroze Plus, Clint Ruin and Wiseblood. He has released over forty albums, known for their dramatic intensity and evocative, cinematic quality. Thirlwell has collaborated with artists including Karen O, Noveller, Zola Jesus, Melvins, Swans, Nine Inch Nails, Lydia Lunch, Coil, The The, Nick Cave, and many more. His commissions include works for Kronos Quartet, Bang On A Can, Alarm Will Sound, and Zephyr Quartet, among others. He has exhibited sound installations internationally and is a member of the freq_out sound art collective. Thirlwell also created the musical score for the Emmy-winning FX show *Archer*, and for Adult Swim’s *The Venture Bros*, earning an Annie Award nomination.