WHATEVER I CAN THINK OF//

Ruins: and the remains of Ruins , Ruins Alone

Ruins is a band that would require a whole new genre in order to be defined. This is not due to their music being inaccessible or extremely challenging to get into. In fact it is quite the opposite. Despite their experimental approach, their music is in fact quite catchy. The band themselves have narrowed down their music to a dense mix of harcdcore punk, prog theatrics and free improvisation.

The band which was formed in 1985 originally consisted of a drummer bassist duo, (yes, like Lightning Bolt),including Yoshida Tatsuya on drums and vocals, and Sassaki Hisashi on bass. After bassist Sassaki Hisashi’s departure from the duo in 2005,Tatsuya has continued as Ruins Alone, which has been stated to be a performance that needs to be seen to be believed. The band has also collaborated with New York experimental jazz musician John Zorn, which further elaborates on their Avant-garde sound, and have covered Black Sabbath songs (reversible) as well as the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

The dominant feeling one gets when listening to Ruins is a punk approach, yet not in the sense of sound but rather in the bands energy, which is then interrupted by atmospheric parts. The music of ruins at times sounds like an arcade game soundtrack, which has been combined with Patton-esque vocals (if any comparison is possible). The great thing about Ruins is that its energy becomes catchy, whilst the actual music still seems chaotic and experimental. Ruins have traveled the world with the Japanese New Music Festival, which was a tour organized by Tatsuya who managed to compile a line up of 5 bands out of just 3members. Following Hisashi’s departure, Tatsuya departed on a “Bassist Wanted” tour, in which he performed with a different bassist in every town he performed at, as well as doing solo shows. At the moment Tatsuo, the remains of Ruins continues to perform as ruins alone, is still an active composer, improviser and avant-gardist , and plays has replaced Sishasi with Jesse Krakow.