One Ring Zero

Instruments

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 often perform as a five-piece band, including trumpet, drum kit, and bass guitar.

Appearances

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.

As Smart As We Are (aka The Author Project)

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.

Planets

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.”

The Recipe Project

The Recipe Project is a CD-book combo released in 2011 that was the result of a collaboration between One Ring Zero and celebrity chefs including David Chang, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Chris Cosentino, and Tom Colicchio, among others. The recipes are sung word for word, as song lyrics, and as an added bonus, the band asked each chef what kind of genre of music they would prefer their recipe be sung as. Edible Brooklyn called the CD "A feast for the ears." Time (magazine) wrote "Every once in a while you come across a project and think, I can’t believe no one has done this before."

Albums

EPs

Video