Ruins is a Japanese music duo composed only of drummer/vocalist Tatsuya Yoshida and a

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

ist (there have been four such bassists in the band's history). The group, formed in 1985, was supposedly intended to be a

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

; the guitarist, however, never showed up to the band's first rehearsal so the group remained a duo. The music touches on

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

Background

The French progressive rock band

Magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

is the group's most important influence, to such an extent that Ruins' original lyrics are written and sung in an invented language which, at first glance, resembles

Kobaïan Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by self-taught drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. The style of progr ...

, the language invented by Christian Vander of Magma. Ruins' material (which Yoshida, who composes the majority of their pieces, writes out in

score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

form) is generally of extreme complexity and thus is often described as inaccessible; potential listeners may be bewildered by the band's unrestrained yet disciplined approach. In addition to the "prog rock" label, the group's music has also been described as "

math rock Math rock is a style of Alternative rock, alternative and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush (band), Rush. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), cou ...

" and "

zeuhl Zeuhl (pronounced zœl meaning "Celestial") is a music genre that is a hybrid of jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassical music, established in 1969 by the French band Magma. The term comes from Kobaïan, the fictional language created by ...

". That said, Ruins' style has consistently evolved since the band's beginning, often changing according to the bassist that Tatsuya was collaborating with at the time. Ruins have collaborated with several other musicians, including prominent

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

figure Derek Bailey, auteur guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Keiji Haino, and

Ground Zero A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...

alumnus Kazuhisa Uchihashi. Bassist Hisashi Sasaki left the band in 2004, and since then Yoshida has been touring solo under the name Ruins-alone (Ruins Alone). He has also performed as Sax Ruins with alto saxophonist Ryoko Ono. He was chosen by

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

to perform at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...

festival Groening curated in May 2010 in Minehead, England. On September 6, 2016, Tatsuya announced via his Facebook that third period bassist Ryuichi Masuda would be rejoining the band for a show in December and shows throughout the spring.

Members

;Current members * Tatsuya Yoshida –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(1985–present) ;Former members *Hideki Kawamoto –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, vocals (1985–1987) *Kazuyoshi Kimoto – bass, vocals, violin (1987–1990) *Ryuichi Masuda – bass, vocals (1991–1997, 2016) *Hisashi Sasaki – bass, vocals (1995–2004)

Discography

* ''Ruins III'' (1988) (reissued as ''Infect'' in 1993) * ''

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

'' (1990) * '' Burning Stone'' (1992) * ''Graviyaunosch'' (1993) * ''

Hyderomastgroningem ''Hyderomastgroningem'' is the fifth studio album by Japanese band Ruins (Japanese band), Ruins, released in 1995 through Tzadik Records. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the album 49th on their list of the 50 greatest progressive rock albums of all tim ...

'' (1995) * '' Refusal Fossil'' (1997/2007) * ''Vrresto'' (1998) * '' Symphonica'' (1998) * ''Pallaschtom'' (2000) * '' Tzomborgha'' (2002) * ''Yawiquo'' (as Sax Ruins) (2009) * ''Alone'' (as Ruins Alone) (2011) * ''Blimmguass'' (as Sax Ruins) (2013)

EPs, live releases, and compilations

* ''Ruins (EP)'' (1986) * ''Ruins II (EP)'' (1987) * ''Early Works: Live & Unreleased Tracks'' (1991) * ''II & 19 Numbers'' (1992) * ''0'33"'' (live album)(1993) * ''Split with Dawson'' (1993) * ''Split with Schlong'' (1994) * ''March–October 1997'' (1997, 2002, 2003) * ''Mandala 2000: Live at the Kichijoji Mandala II'' (2000) * ''1986-1992'' (2001) * ''Live in Guangzhou'' (2002) * ''Ales Stenar'' (2001) * ''Split with

High on Fire High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with thei ...

'' (2005) Collaborations * ''Ruins & Umezu Kazutoki'' (1994, with Umezu Kazutoki) * ''Hatoba & Ruins'' (1994, with Omoide Hatoba) * ''Saisoro'' (1995, with Derek Bailey) * ''Jason Willet & Ruins'' (1995, with Jason Willet) * ''Tohjinbo'' (1997, with Derek Bailey) * ''Ketsunoana'' (1998, with Ron Anderson) * ''Big Shoes'' (2001, with Ron Anderson) * ''Kazuhisa Uchihashi & Ruins'' (1998, with Kazuhisa Uchihashi) * ''Live In Europe'' (2001, with Kazuhisa Uchihashi) * ''Knead'' (2002, with Keiji Haino) * ''New Rap'' (2006, with Keiji Haino) * ''Uhrfasudhasdd'' (2008, with Keiji Haino) * ''Hauenfiomiume'' (2008, with Keiji Haino) * ''2008 New Japan Festival'' (2008, with various artists, including Ruins-Alone)

References

External links