Zero 7

Zero 7 are a British musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. They began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, Simple Things, was released in 2001. Subsequent albums include When It Falls, The Garden, and Yeah Ghost.

History

After studying sound engineering, Binns and Hardaker began their careers in the music industry in the 1990s at Mickie Most's RAK recording studio in London, engineering music for British groups like the Pet Shop Boys, Young Disciples, and Robert Plant. In 1997 they created a remix of the song "Climbing Up the Walls" by Radiohead (which was also the first time the name 'Zero 7' was used)^[1] and Binns received a credit for additional sampling on Kid A.^[2] The pair also remixed Terry Callier's "Love Theme From Spartacus" and songs by Lenny Kravitz, Sneaker Pimps and Lambchop.

The name Zero 7 was chosen after Binns and Hardaker travelled through Mexico and ended up in Honduras, where they spent time on an island called Utila on which there was a bar called Cero Siete. When back in the UK they were asked by Radiohead to remix "Climbing Up the Walls" and they called the mix "the Zero 7 Mix" which stuck.^[3]

In 1999, they released an EP of original material called EP1, under the name Zero 7. In 2001, they released their debut album, Simple Things, which featured collaborations with vocalists Mozez, Sia Furler, and Sophie Barker. The album became a gold record and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and won the "Best Newcomer" Muzik Award. Live appearances after the album's release consisted of Binns and Hardaker, vocalists and other musicians, with as many as 20 performers on stage at once.

In 2004, they released their second album, When It Falls. In addition to the three vocalists from their first album, it featured a collaboration with Danish singer-songwriter Tina Dico. That same year, Binns co-wrote the Emma Bunton track "Breathing".

Zero 7 2006 at Bumbershoot

Zero 7 released their third album, The Garden, in May 2006. The two vocalists featured on the album were Sia Furler and José González. Henry Binns also sang on the album. The name of the album is derived from the cover art, which is a collection of collages created by an artist friend.

In 2007, Binns and Hardaker created a band called Ingrid Eto, which has been described as 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. The album incorporated jazz and soul singer, Eska Mtungwazi, as well as folk artist Martha Tilston.^[4]

In 2010, the duo released a retrospective compilation album entitled Record. A two-disc special edition of Record also contained exclusive remixes of notable songs from all four of their prior released studio albums. In 2013, the band released a 12" on their own label called Make Records. Entitled On My Own, it contained A-side track On My Own and B-side Track Don't Call It Love.

Discography

Studio albums

• Simple Things (2001)
• When It Falls (2004)
• The Garden (2006)
• Yeah Ghost (2009)

Other albums

• Another Late Night (2002)
• Simple Things Remixes (2002)
• Record (2010)
• Simple Science (2014)

Awards

• Nominated for the Mercury Prize 2001.
• 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

External links

• Zero 7 at AllMusic
• Zero 7 discography at Discogs
• Zero 7 on Facebook