Ruins is a Japanese music duo composed only of drummer/vocalist Tatsuya Yoshida and a bass guitarist (there have been four such bassists in the band's history). The group, formed in 1985, was supposedly intended to be a power trio; the guitarist, however, never showed up to the band's first rehearsal so the group remained a duo. The music touches on progressive rock,

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

and noise rock.

Background

The French progressive rock band Magma 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 classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the cou ...

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

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

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" and "

zeuhl Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the cou ...

". 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 figure Derek Bailey, auteur guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Keiji Haino, and Ground Zero alumnus

Kazuhisa Uchihashi Kazuhisa Uchihashi (内橋和久, ''Uchihashi Kazuhisa'') is a Japanese guitarist involved in free improvisation music. Born in 1959 in Osaka, Uchihashi began to play the guitar at age 12, playing in various rock bands, though he later studied j ...

. 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 to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties 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 A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, percussion, vocals (1985–present) ;Former members *Hideki Kawamoto –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, 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) * ''

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'' (1990) * ''

Burning Stone ''Burning Stone'' is the third album by Ruins, released in 1992 through Shimmy Disc. Track listing Personnel ;Ruins *Ryuichi Masuda – bass guitar *Tatsuya Yoshida – vocals, drums, percussion, photography, art direction ;Produc ...

'' (1992) * ''Graviyaunosch'' (1993) * ''

Hyderomastgroningem ''Hyderomastgroningem'' is the fifth studio album by 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 time. Track listing All t ...

'' (1995) * ''

Refusal Fossil ''Refusal Fossil'' is the sixth album by Ruins, released in 1997 through Skin Graft Records. In 2007, Skin Graft released a special edition with five extra tracks, easily identified by a different text font for the band name and title. Track l ...

'' (1997/2007) * ''Vrresto'' (1998) * '' Symphonica'' (1998) * ''Pallaschtom'' (2000) * ''

Tzomborgha ''Tzomborgha'' is the 10th full-length album by Ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a var ...

'' (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 1999. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for doom metal band Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Per ...

'' (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