| One Ring Zero | |
|---|---|
One Ring Zero Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Richmond, Virginia; Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Genres | Indie rock Art rock World Baroque pop[1] |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | Urban Geek Record, Planetary Records, Barbes Records |
| Website | oneringzero.com |
| Members | |
| Michael Hearst Joshua Camp Timothy Quigley Ian Riggs Ben Holmes |
|
| Past members | |
| Greg Stare Paul Watson Mark Snyder Taylor Bergren-Chrisman John Gotschalk Randy Mendicino Josh Roseman Lee Epstein Matt Grason Sean Moran Anthony Mascorro Scot Fitzsimmons Karen Waltuch |
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One Ring Zero is a modern music group led by Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst that melds many genres and sounds to create a unique type of music.
Contents |
Michael plays the theremin and Joshua plays the accordion. They both play the claviola and prove to be extremely versatile musicians, often switching instruments for each song. Other instruments include a toy piano, a melodica, a metallophone, jones-O-phone, cajón and a series of everyday sounds looped and altered to create textures and rhythms. Using all these instruments (or noises) together One Ring Zero creates a sound that defies genre. There is an undeniable klezmer influence throughout their music but also a modern rock or indie influence. The band has been denoted "Lit Rock" by the media but they seem to defy any singular name. Both Joshua and Michael sing, Michael bass and Joshua tenor. They normally play with a six piece band now, including of a trumpet, drum kit, and bass guitar.
One Ring Zero on NPR's "Fresh Air" (2004).[1]
One Ring Zero on A&E Television's "Breakfast with the Arts" (2007).
One Ring Zero's on NPR's "Morning Edition" (2007).[2]
One Ring Zero has also performed at music venues and cultural institutions including the Whitney Museum of Art, Central Park SummerStage, The Kennedy Center, Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, Spring Scream in Taiwan, Era in Tokyo, New Morning in Paris, The Chicago World Music Festival, and the Fundación Príncipe de Asturias in Spain.
On their critically acclaimed album "As Smart As We Are", published authors and writers wrote lyrics on request, which Hearst and Camp then set to music. Some writers wrote basic chord progressions or requested a certain genre for their song to fall under but for the most part Michael and Joshua wrote their own music for the lyrics.
Contributing authors included:
This provides a large variation in each song's theme, feel, and over all sound. Some lyrics are more poetic, while others tell stories.
For One Ring Zero's 2010 release, Planets, the band composed thirteen new songs to represent the solar system and beyond. Tracks on the album include "An Introduction To Planets," "Mercury," "Venus," "Earth," "Mars Part I," "Mars Part II," "Jupiter," "63 Moons," "Saturn," "Uranus," "Neptune," "Pluto," and "Exoplanets." The concept was inspired by Gustav Holst's nearly century-old orchestral suite "The Planets." As Hearst and Camp put it, "Seemed like maybe it was time to revisit our solar system with some new tunes.” [2]
A documentary called As Smart As They Are: The Author Project was made about the duo. Directed by Joe Pacheco it shows the evolution of the album "As Smart As We Are".
One Ring Zero is currently working on an album of songs set to recipes by various chefs, including Mario Batali, Chris Cosentino, Andrea Reusing, David Chang, John Besh, Tom Colicchio, and Mark Kurlansky, among others.[3]