Play Standards

Plays Standards stands as one of the defining statements of Ground Zero, the legendary ensemble led by Otomo Yoshihide during the explosive Japanese avant‑garde renaissance of the 1990s. Originally released in 1997, the album became an underground classic — a radical, irreverent, and fiercely creative deconstruction of what “standards” can mean in a globalized musical landscape. This remastered 2×LP edition from Not Two Records together with Wschodnie Triady and No Earplugs restores the full sonic impact of the original sessions while presenting the material with renewed clarity and depth. The album captures Ground Zero at the height of its powers: a volatile collective capable of moving from razor‑sharp precision to anarchic noise, from whispered fragments of melody to full‑scale sonic demolition.

Across its sprawling program, the group tears apart and reassembles musical icons — Victor Jara, Burt Bacharach, Roland Kirk, Japanese folk repertoire, military marches, and more — transforming familiar material into something unrecognizable, urgent, and politically charged. Yoshihide’s turntables and guitar collide with shamisen, saxophones, samplers, and a double‑drum frontline, creating a sound world where genres dissolve and history is rewritten in real time.

Plays Standards remains a landmark of experimental music: a furious, joyful, and deeply intelligent interrogation of cultural memory.