Indie band One Ring Zero explores the universe

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Making an album about such seemingly simple concepts as food or ice cream trucks might seem like a fool's errand, but for Brooklyn indie duo One Ring Zero, those concepts have led to opportunities to perform at events including book award ceremonies and children's festivals.

"The fun thing about One Ring Zero is we manage to step into these different worlds straight-ahead rock bands don't get to step into," says Michael Hearst, a principal member of the group along with Joshua Camp. He was referring to such past projects as 2004 literary-themed release "As Smart as We Are," which features lyrics from authors like Jonathan Ames, Margaret Atwood and Dave Eggers. After its release, the band played high-profile art and literary festivals across the globe.

"They never just make a new album," says Claudia Gonson, a longtime member of the act who also helps to co-manage it. "Instead they find specific, inventive themes around which to stage their projects. Each album's theme provides a door for them to enter."

One Ring Zero's latest album, "Planets," due September 7 on the band's own Urban Geek Records, with digital distribution through Virtual Label, opens the door to a new galaxy of opportunity, with its 13 tracks forming a song cycle about the solar system.

"The project started when the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto in 2006, and 'Pluto' was the first track we wrote," Hearst says. "From there, we thought it would be fun to do the whole album on the planets, basically." He adds that the concept was also inspired by composer Gustav Holst's nearly century-old orchestral suite "The Planets."

EXPANDED LINEUP

In a departure from One Ring Zero's past seven albums, on which Hearst and Camp played all the instruments, the duo brought in outside players for "Planets," including the group's extended five-piece lineup as well as guest spots by violinist Mark Feldman, Vampire Weekend's Hamilton Berry on cello and author Rick Moody, who contributed lyrics and sang on one song.

The recording was split between Hearst's and Camp's apartments from spring 2007 through April 2010, a decision both felt was necessary to produce the elaborate sounds and song structures, which "would drive any engineer crazy," according to Hearst.

The result is progressive-rock-influenced, with touches of Eastern European flair and '80s synth rock, giving the effort an otherworldly sound indicative of the album's concept.

Hearst hopes the instrumental nature of the new songs will bring about more licensing deals for TV and movies. But the biggest draw, he believes, is the album's theme, which lends itself to potential involvement in the science world, a new direction for One Ring Zero and one it would embrace. "We're almost chameleons in many senses with what we do," Hearst says. "We're very much a band and have a sound ... but I won't be surprised when we get e-mails from planetariums or the Natural History Museum."

While Hearst and Camp work on ventures outside the band -- everything from Christmas music for an Italian cooking show to Hearst's next solo effort to a kids' record, "Songs for Unusual Creatures" -- they're prepping One Ring Zero's next project: a food-themed album with music set to recipes of such celebrity chefs as Mario Batali and David Chang, slated for release in 2011.

While the forthcoming recipe collection should showcase yet another example of One Ring Zero's creativity, Hearst sees it a slightly different way: "Basically, we're in it to play food festivals."