Ruins is a Japanese prog-rock/zeuhl/punk/noise/fusion duo, formed in 1985 by drummer/vocalist Tatsuya Yoshida and a bass guitarist (in the course of 20 years the group changed four bassists). Since the departure of bassist Sasaki Hisashi in 2004, Tatsuya proceeds playing solo with only a drum-kit as Ruins Alone. Formed in 1985, the group was intended to be a power trio; after a handful of rehearsals as a trio, the band abandoned the guitar and chose to move forward as a two-piece.

Ruins produce a unique fusion of punk and progressive/noise rock, with elements of jazz fusion, math rock and zeuhl, with all material composed and written in a score form by Tatsuya Yoshida. French band Magma was one of the group’s most important influence, such as Ruins’ original lyrics were mainly written in an invented language similar to Kobaïan language, invented by Christian Vander of Magma.

On their first recordings, Ruins teamed up with NYC experimental sax-icon John Zorn, who would later release their albums on Tzadik. 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. They released a number of albums on Shimmy Disc, Skin Graft Records, Sonore, Yoshida’ own Magaibutsu and other prominent labels. Ruins have toured around the world numerous times, most notably as part of the Japanese New Music Festival.

After the last bassist a=Sasaki Hisashi] left the band, Yoshida went on a ’Bassist Wanter Tour’ in 2005, performing his material solo with a task to recruit a new companion for the project. Since then, he decided to pursue a solo unit as Ruins Alone. For instance, he was invited to perform at All Tomorrow’s Parties 2010, curated by Matt Groening. He also performs as Sax Ruins with alto-saxophonist Ono Ryoko.

Ruins’ Bassist Hall of Fame

● Hideki Kawamoto – bass, vocals (1985–1987)
● Kazuyoshi Kimoto – bass, vocals (1987–1990)
● Ryuichi Masuda – bass, vocals (1991–1994)
● Sasaki Hisashi – bass, vocals (1995–2004)