Thread

Born without hands, THREAD (James Izzo) has portrayed himself as a cybernetic musician. Utilizing prosthetic metal hooks as part of his onstage persona, THREAD composes experimental electronic mayhem that is both chaotic and oddly beautiful. His presence onstage is powerful and profound, his artificial limbs lending him an aesthetic that compliments his unique blend of intricate synth work and programming. As THREAD, Izzo would like to increase the awareness in popular culture of how technology can be used to improve and reverse disabilities, both physical and mental.

Released in 1998, THREAD’s first full-length debut album, The Need for a Sky, creatively weaves complex rhythmic and melodic substructures while combining elements of techno, tribal, and industrial. In order to further push his own boundaries, he then re-mixed / reconstructed material for legendary electronic artists Coil. Coil themselves were so ecstatic with Izzo’s work, it resulted in a joint release of the hugely successful limited edition single "Obsidian Monarch/The Null Tributary."

Continuing with his collaborative efforts, THREAD released In Sweet Sorrow, a CD mini-album featuring the sultry vocal presence of Jarboe (ex-Swans). Also included were guest re-mixes by Artefact and Cazzodio. Izzo returned the favor by re-mixing a track from the Cazzodio album released in 2000. Jarboe's vocal from "In Sweet Sorrow" was recently sampled by famed British techno artist NEOTROPIC (Riz Maslin) and it will be the solid basis of a song on Maslin's upcoming album, to be released shortly.

His most recent release bears the embittered title: Abnormal Love. This highly anticipated full-length work brings Izzo’s signature electronic manipulation into full effect. Each song flows into the next with its unique circuitry of ambience, electro/EBM, loops and samples, and features a haunting, new duet version of "In Sweet Sorrow" between Jarboe and Izzo.

Upcoming production work from THREAD/Izzo includes Jarboe’s new duet album tentatively titled: Dissection. This piece will feature remixes by Lustmord, David Linton, and of course THREAD.

Izzo has also released material under his electronica project, The Boy Without Hands.