Zero 7
are a Grammy Award-nominated Downtempo styled musical duo comprising Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker from the United Kingdom. Contributing artists include vocals from Mozez, Sia Furler, Tina Dico, Sophie Barker, and José González.
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Biography
After studying
sound engineering, Binns and Hardaker began their careers in the
music industry in the 1990s at a
Mickie Most's
RAK recording studio in London, engineering music for British musicians including
Pet Shop Boys,
Young Disciples and
Robert Plant. They contacted their friend and former college-mate
Nigel Godrich, who was the
producer for the band
Radiohead, asking if he could give them some of the band's music to hone their skills with. The result was a
remix of "Climbing Up the Walls" that appeared as a
B-side of Radiohead's single "
Karma Police".
That remix was played on
Gilles Peterson's show on
BBC Radio 1, leading to further remixing duties, beginning with
Terry Callier's "Love Theme From Spartacus", followed by mixes for artists including
Lenny Kravitz,
Sneaker Pimps and
Lambchop. In 1999, they went on to release an
EP of original material called "EP1", under the name Zero 7. In 2001, they released their
debut album,
Simple Things
, to wide acclaim. The album featured collaborations with
vocalists Mozez,
Sia Furler, and
Sophie Barker.
The album was nominated for several awards including the
Mercury Music Prize. They won the "Best Newcomer" award at the
Muzik Awards. The album sold sufficient copies to become a
gold record. When they toured the album, including appearances at a number of music festivals, the live band consisted of Binns and Hardaker, their three vocalists and a host of other musicians (many of whom appeared on the album), sometimes numbering up to 20 performers on stage at once. In 2002, Zero 7 released a
DJ mix album for
Azuli Records'
Another Late Night
series, which features various
hip hop and
chill out artists and also included a new track by the band, a cover of Johnny Osbourne's "Truth & Rights".
In 2004, they released their second album,
When It Falls
. In addition to the three vocalists from their first album, it also featured a collaboration with
Tina Dico. In the same year, Binns also co-wrote the
Emma Bunton track "Breathing" from her second solo album,
Free Me
.
Wanting to get back to the basics and turn away from being more than a duo, Zero 7 released their third album,
The Garden
, on May 22, 2006. Mozez, Barker, and Dico did not return for this record. Only two vocalists were featured on the new LP, which included the Zero 7 mainstay and long-time cohort
Sia Furler, and newcomer
José González. Zero 7's own Henry Binns makes his singing debut on the album. The name of the album comes from the cover art, which is a collection of collages done by an artist friend, entitled none other than "The Garden."
In 2007 Binns and Hardaker created a band called Ingrid Eto, which has been described a Zero 7 instrumental project. The band also released an EP under the alias of Kling (which like Ingrid Eto was an experimental instrumental project). The tracks from Kling EP were later incorporated into Zero 7's fourth album "Yeah Ghost".
Zero 7 are currently working on their fourth studio album
[1] entitled "Yeah Ghost".
There are many rumours about how the band got their name. The main rumour stems from a nightclub the duo visited on the island of Utila in Honduras called 'Zero Siete' which played only seven songs. Another rumour is that their name came from a nightclub they visited in Mexico, also named Zero Siete.
Influence
Zero 7 have been popularly featured in various film and TV soundtracks, as well as lounge music compilations such as
The Chillout Project
by
Filipino DJ Anton Ramos, and the
Hôtel Costes compilation CDs. Their track "Lo" was featured on a mix CD by
Layo and Bushwacka!, and is the reason behind the common mistake of people thinking that Layo and Bushwacka! had remixed the track. It is one of the few times the track has actually appeared on CD or in digital form, as the only Zero 7 release it has been featured on is
EP1
which was only available on vinyl. Their music appearances in movies and television are also apparent, most notably their songs "
Destiny" (
Blue Crush
,
Raising Helen
,
Roswell
,
Obsessed
), "Give It Away" (
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
), and "In The Waiting Line" (
Garden State
,
Sex and the City
,
House
,
Numb3rs
). "Destiny" was featured on the
Lacoste website. For SkyTV's broadcast of the Star Wars Saga, "Destiny" was used as the background music in the romance version of the full length commercial. In early 2006,
HBO used "In The Waiting Line" for a promotional for the network's upcoming season of shows. The 96-second trailer featured clips of the shows moving in backwards fashion. In 2008
NBC used "In The Waiting Line" in a profile of
French Olympic Swimmer
Laure Manaudou.
Discography
Studio albums
- Simple Things
(2001)
- When It Falls
(2004)
- The Garden
(2006)
- Yeah Ghost
(2009)
Awards
- Nominated for Best British Newcomer at the Brit Awards 2002.
- Nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award for The Garden
in the category Best Electronic/Dance Album
References
- Artist Management // Zero 7, Jeremy Warmsley, Kish Mauve, Jimmy Somerville, Josephine Oniyama, Leo Abrahams, Ember, Sound Captives, Ray Mang, Idjut Boys, // Solar Management