ONE RING ZERO is led by Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp. The band has released six CDs. Using odd-ball instruments including claviola, toy piano, theremin, and glockenspiel, One Ring Zero creates a musical landscape that is part cartoon, part klezmer, and part circus. Their post-Kurt Weill sound has been described as “Nina Rota on processed sugar.”
Previous works include mostly instrumental albums such as Alice and Memorandum, film scores, incidental music for theater and dance as well as literary collaborations including As Smart As We Are, a CD featuring songs with lyrics contributed by such authors as Jonathan Lethem, Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, Dave Eggers, A.M. Homes, Rick Moody, Neil Gaiman, and Denis Johnson.
One Ring Zero has performed at music venues and cultural institutions including the Whitney Museum of Art, Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, Central Park Summer Stage, Book Expo America in Chicago, the Calgary Folk Festival, and Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre. One Ring Zero has received grants from The Virginia commission for the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts. The music has been featured in dance concerts, films and animations, fashion shows, and NPR programming including This American Life, Fresh Air, and The Next Big Thing.
As Smart as we are was released in France by Naive as New York Spleen, with illustrations by Frederic Rébéna. Also available in France, from publisher Actes Sud, ORZ‘s collaboration with Sophie Auster.