Zero 7 are a Grammy Award-nominated, downtempo styled musical duo comprising of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker from the United Kingdom. Contributing artists include vocals from Mozez, Sia Furler, Tina Dico, Sophie Barker, and José González. The guest vocalist lineup for the duo has subsequently included Eska Mtungwazi, Martha Tilston, and Rowdy Superstar for their fourth studio album.
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 on the Radiohead's 1997 album OK Computer.
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 Danish singer-songwriter, 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 have released their fourth studio album entitled Yeah Ghost. The album has a similar sound approach from their third release, The Garden. Incorporating a more upbeat sound, Binns and Hardaker enlisted the help of vocalists jazz and soul singer, Eska Mtungwazi, folk artist Martha Tilston, and Rowdy Superstar. Long-time vocal mainstay Sia Furler does not make an appearance on the fourth Zero 7 release, due to her work with her own upcoming solo album along with a major collaboration with Christina Aguilera for her future album release. Aside from the three new vocal contributors, Binns also has a vocal appearance on Yeah Ghost much like his previous debut on The Garden.
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, Smallville, 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.
Zero 7 have also influenced other artists, with the song "In The Waiting Line" being sampled for use in the song "Nothing Iz Real" by Termanology.
Discography
Studio albums
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
Some of the biographical information in this article was derived from [1] and [2].
External links
