Zero 7
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Zero 7 is an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. Both of them began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001; their song "
Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...
" stayed in the top 100 of the UK Single Charts. Subsequent albums include ''
When It Falls ''When It Falls'' is the second album by Zero 7, released on 1 March 2004. The album features vocals by Sia (on tracks "Somersault" and "Speed Dial No.2"), Mozez Osmond Wright, professionally known as Mozez, is a Jamaican-born and London ...
'', '' The Garden'', and ''
Yeah Ghost ''Yeah Ghost'' is the fourth studio album by Zero 7, released in September 2009. The album features vocals by ESKA (on "Mr McGee", "Medicine Man", "Sleeper", and "The Road"), Martha Tilston (on "Pop Art Blue"), Binki Shapiro (on "Swing" and ...
''. After studying
sound engineering An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduct ...
, Binns and Hardaker began their careers in the
music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
in the 1990s at
Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...
's
RAK Studios RAK Studios is a recording studio complex, with residential facilities, used by Rak Records, and located near Regent's Park in central London, England. It was founded in 1976 by English record producer Mickie Most. History The RAK complex res ...
in London, engineering music for British groups like
Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
,
Young Disciples Young Disciples was a British- American acid jazz band, formed in London in 1990 by Carleen Anderson (vocals and keyboards), Marco Nelson (bass, guitar and organ) and Femi Williams (percussion and programming). Their most notable hit was the ...
, and
Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...
. In 1997 they created a
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
of the song "Climbing Up the Walls" by
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
(which was also the first time the name 'Zero 7' was used), provided additional programming on "Meeting in the Aisle", a ''
Karma Police "Karma Police" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band Radiohead, released on 25 August 1997 as the second single from their third studio album, ''OK Computer'' (1997). It features acoustic guitar and piano, and lyrical themes of insani ...
'' B-side, and Binns received a credit for additional sampling on ''
Kid A ''Kid A'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Departing from their ...
''. The pair also remixed
Terry Callier Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012) was an American soul music, soul, Folk music, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter. Life and career Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was ...
's "Love Theme From Spartacus" and songs by
Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...
,
Sneaker Pimps Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, '' Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and " Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an articl ...
and Lambchop.


History

The name Zero 7 was chosen after Binns and Hardaker spent time on the Honduran island
Utila Utila () is the smallest of Honduras' major Bay Islands, after Roatán and Guanaja, in a region that marks the south end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest in the world. It has been documented in history since Columbus ...
, which contained a bar named Cero Siete. After returning to the UK they were asked by Radiohead to remix the song "Climbing Up the Walls". Binns and Hardaker called their mix "the Zero 7 Mix", and the name stuck. In 1999, they released an EP of original material called '' EP 1'' under the name Zero 7. In 2001, they released their debut album, '' Simple Things'', which featured collaborations with vocalists
Mozez Osmond Wright, professionally known as Mozez, is a Jamaican-born and London-based singer, songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be cal ...
, Sia, and
Sophie Barker Sophie Alexandra Jessica Barker (born 5 November 1971) is a British singer and songwriter from London, best known for her work with the British downtempo group Zero 7. Biography Barker left University College London after two years to become a ...
. The album peaked at number 28 on the UK albums chart and went
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
. It was later nominated for the
Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
and won the "Best Newcomer"
Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...
Award. Live appearances after the album's release consisted of Binns and Hardaker along with guest vocalists and other musicians, with as many as 20 performers on stage at once. In 2004, they released their second album, ''
When It Falls ''When It Falls'' is the second album by Zero 7, released on 1 March 2004. The album features vocals by Sia (on tracks "Somersault" and "Speed Dial No.2"), Mozez Osmond Wright, professionally known as Mozez, is a Jamaican-born and London ...
''. In addition to the three vocalists from their first album, it featured a collaboration with Danish singer-songwriter
Tina Dico Tina Dico (born Tina Dickow Danielsen on 14 October 1977) is a Danish singer-songwriter. She founded her own record label and releases her music independently, enjoying large success with her albums in her home country as well as critical acclai ...
. It peaked at number 3 on the UK albums chart, their highest charting to date, and became a certified
gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
. That same year, Binns co-wrote the
Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the Pop music, pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the ...
track "Breathing". Zero 7 released their third album, '' The Garden'', in May 2006, which contained vocals performed by Binns as well as guest vocalists Sia and Swedish folk musician José González. The album was named after the collage that artist friend
Gideon London Gideon "Gid" London (1961–2010) was a British artist. Early years London was born on 18 March 1961 in Hampstead, London. He studied fine art at Stourbridge College. Career He was a successful film maker and collage artist, in addition to bei ...
produced for its cover. In 2007, Binns and Hardaker created a band called Ingrid Eto, which has been described as a Zero 7 instrumental project. In 2009, they released an experimental instrumental EP under the name Kling, titled ''Kling EP''. Its tracks were later incorporated into Zero 7's fourth album, ''
Yeah Ghost ''Yeah Ghost'' is the fourth studio album by Zero 7, released in September 2009. The album features vocals by ESKA (on "Mr McGee", "Medicine Man", "Sleeper", and "The Road"), Martha Tilston (on "Pop Art Blue"), Binki Shapiro (on "Swing" and ...
'', also released in 2009. The album included contributions from jazz and soul singer Eska Mtungwazi as well as folk artist
Martha Tilston Martha Tilston is an English folk singer-songwriter based in Cornwall. Biography Martha Tilston is the daughter of singer-songwriter Steve Tilston and stepdaughter of Irish folk performer Maggie Boyle. Trained as an artist and dramatist, s ...
. In 2010, the duo released a retrospective compilation titled '' Record''. A two-disc special edition contained exclusive remixes of songs from all four of their prior studio albums. In 2013, the band released a 12" single, "On My Own" b/w "Don't Call It Love", on their own label, Make Records. In 2014, the band released the ''Simple Science'' EP, followed by ''EP3'' in 2015. Both were released on Make Records. In 2016, Henry Binns teamed up with Bo Bruce and Jodi Milliner to form a group called Equador. At the end of 2018, Zero 7 released the track "Mono" featuring Hidden. This was followed at the beginning of 2019 by "Aurora". In October 2019, the duo released another single titled "Swimmers" with additional vocals courtesy of UK based singer Jem Cooke. Later in August 2020, the band released another single, "Shadows", and announced an upcoming EP. In October 2020, the Shadows EP was released, containing 4 tracks by singer-songwriter Lou Stone. In March 2024, Zero 7 teased new music via social media. Then on 3 April they released their first new single, "The Crowd", from forthcoming album with California west coast based artist Swim Surreal. They followed this with their second single "Bloom" released on 15 May. On 5 June they released "Don't Call it Love" along with a video. Finally, 21 June saw the release of the full length album ''In the Half Light'', a nine-song collaboration with Swim Surreal. All songs were co-written and produced by Zero 7, essentially comprising the fifth Zero 7 album, their first since 2009.


Discography

* '' Simple Things'' (2001) * ''
When It Falls ''When It Falls'' is the second album by Zero 7, released on 1 March 2004. The album features vocals by Sia (on tracks "Somersault" and "Speed Dial No.2"), Mozez Osmond Wright, professionally known as Mozez, is a Jamaican-born and London ...
'' (2004) * '' The Garden'' (2006) * ''
Yeah Ghost ''Yeah Ghost'' is the fourth studio album by Zero 7, released in September 2009. The album features vocals by ESKA (on "Mr McGee", "Medicine Man", "Sleeper", and "The Road"), Martha Tilston (on "Pop Art Blue"), Binki Shapiro (on "Swing" and ...
'' (2009) * ''In the Half Light'' (2024)


Awards

* Nominated for the
Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
2001 for ''Simple Things''. * 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'.


See also

*
List of downtempo artists This is a list of downtempo artists, a genre of electronic music. List *Air *All India Radio *The Album Leaf *Alpha * Arthur Loves Plastic *Banco de Gaia *Bibio * Bitter:Sweet *Blank & Jones *Blue Sky Black Death * Blue States *Boards of Canada * ...
*
List of trip hop artists This is a list of trip hop artists, a genre that originated in Bristol, England. 0–9 *12 Rounds (band), 12 Rounds *8mm (band), 8mm *9 Lazy 9 A *Aim (musician), Aim *Air (French band), AirPhilip Sherburne, Sherburne, Philip (13 September 2 ...


References


External links

* *
Zero 7
on Facebook {{Authority control English electronic music duos Electronic music groups from London English remixers Trip hop groups Atlantic Records artists Elektra Records artists Musical groups established in 1997 Palm Pictures artists Chill-out musicians Downtempo musicians Acid jazz musicians English male musical duos