RFI: Ground-Zero

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I recently bought Ground-Zero Plays Standards. My problem is this: I don't usually like music which sets up a groove, only to disappoint me by falling apart into chaos, but I really really like the sound of this album in many spots. I'd love to hear a band making music that sounds like the beginning of the first song on this CD (before it stumbles into some annoying vocals). I've heard this is supposed to be one of their more accessible works, but I am wondering if there are any other albums where they get a groove going and keep it going. In lieu of that, are there other albums they've recorded in which there is no groove, but the sound is amazing enough to hold one's attention? (Ha ha, "one" as though everyone is going to react in the same way.) There seems to be a real mastery of sound here, but I don't always like how it's being used.

― Al Andalous, Monday, 8 September 2003 15:03 (twenty-one years ago)

All of Ground Zero's albums sound amazing -- but all of them have at least moments (some a great many) of complete nuclear meltdown chaos too. Thing is, to me, those are usually the best parts. The best example of Ground Zero - and maybe Otomo Yoshihide in general - is probably Consume Red, because it 1) shows the kind of glorious deconstruction that's possible from just a couple of short samples, and 2) because it shows rock people how fucking cool free improvisation can be. Anyway, it sure rocks me pretty good.

Most straightforward is probably Plays Standards, though if you like that, you might also check out the Otomo New Jazz Ensemble/Quintet records. Dreams in particular reminds me of Plays Standards in places - though there are lots of vocals. Consume Red is actually almost groove free, but still my fave. Revolutionary Pekinese Opera is similar, but I think not as consistent (aka maddening). Null & Void has plenty of rock in there, but also a lot of sound collage and ambient type stuff. The first record is like a continuation of Naked City style music. Their live record is great, but I think already tilting towards what Otomo would do with his Anode/Cathode projects, and stuff with Filament/I.S.O.

― dleone (dleone), Monday, 8 September 2003 16:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't heard too much of the Altered States material (a band featuring most of Ground Zero minus Otomo the spanner), but it's straighter and could be what you're looking for... they have a companion album also called 'Plays Standards'.

'revolutionary pekanese opera' is one of my favorite albums of the previous decade. Frequent listening, can't even discuss.

Every GZ album is solid, (not counting the two inconsistent remix records). 'Plays Standards', 'Consume Red', 'Final Concert', the climax of their Cassiber remix album ('At Last I Am Free / Across the Stars'). Otomo's solo stuff deserves it's own thread.

― jl (Jon L), Monday, 8 September 2003 18:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I find myself thinking, when I listen to parts of this Ground-Zero CD: this is what rock guitars should sound like. (I suspect much of it's really classic rock, once you descramble it.) The current (or almost current--Boredoms) bands that have the most interesting sounds (to my ears) also tend to be a little more structurally discomobulated than I would prefer.

― Al Andalous, Monday, 8 September 2003 18:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually, Altered States' first record features Otomo too, so is basically the entire instrumental core of later GZ. More proggy though.

― dleone (dleone), Tuesday, 9 September 2003 00:01 (twenty-one years ago)

is that the 'live in estonia and lithuania' disc? that one's billed as 'Altered States featuring Otomo Yoshihide' and my first impression was that he does behave a bit more as a guest. I have to listen to that again. Yep more proggy.

Have you heard the Altered States 'plays standards', or any of the other ones?

― jl (Jon L), Tuesday, 9 September 2003 00:09 (twenty-one years ago)

I have Plays Standards, and have heard parts of Mosaic. Plays Standards is a great record, very much in the downtown New York mode from the 90s. Actually, Kazuhisa Uchihashi always reminds me of Bill Frisell. Mosaic came out on Hoppy Kamiyama's God Mountain, so if you something about the groups there (Koenjihyakkei, Optical*8, Pugs), you know how its sound differed from the others.

― dleone (dleone), Tuesday, 9 September 2003 00:14 (twenty-one years ago)

The funny thing is that I like the jazzier parts on the Ground-Zero album: I like the saxophone playing most of the time, maybe because its context is missing many of the usual jazz elements.

― Al Andalous (Al Andalous), Tuesday, 9 September 2003 00:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I shall have to pick those up.

dead on about the Frisell. especially when KU picks up the e-bow and starts cloudbuilding.

I also like the jazz elements, which is weird, because it's all out traditional jazz in a way I usually don't take to it. But in their precise hands, it burns.

― jl (Jon L), Tuesday, 9 September 2003 00:30 (twenty-one years ago)

need to proof read my posts better especially if I'm going to talk all lofty like that.

anyways, I think it's Otomo's guitar playing that contributes to most of the psychotic over the top noise rock aspects of the band. he does traditional quite evenly, but when he moves into freeform noise my jaw drops, I have nothing but compliments.

I was at the rehearsal for his san francisco show a few months back, he was warming up by playing 'hey joe'.

― jl (Jon L), Tuesday, 9 September 2003 00:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I was listening to RPO last night. I don't know their other records but I love that one. Things I like include: just the sharp bright colourful timbres (that makes it sound like Avril or something but it's not obv) they use even when doing noise, the sense of pacing and dynamics, of tension and intensity, the cartoon-like quality of bits of it, yes, the guitar noise solo, the way the whole thing kind of feels like some kind of sci-fi anime epic.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Wednesday, 10 September 2003 01:57 (twenty-one years ago)

eighteen years pass...

uber uber uber uber uber classic, glad some old heads had some sense on here. Listening to Null and Void (still so pathbreaking) this morning, Underworld should have made the techno version of this, but they didn't.

― toxic psycho "gifted child" asshole (RobbiePires), Saturday, 6 November 2021 09:12 (three years ago)

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