Zero 7 are a Grammy nominated downtempo styled musical duo comprising Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker from the United Kingdom. The band's songs feature vocals from Mozez, Sia Furler, Tina Dico, Sophie Barker, José González, and for the first time, Henry Binns providing backing vocals on the third album, The Garden. There are many rumours about how the band got their name. The main rumour stems from a nightclub the duo visited in Honduras called 'Zero' which played only seven songs. Another rumour is that their name came from a nightclub they visited in Mexico, named Zero Siete.
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), "Give It Away" (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), and "In The Waiting Line" (Garden State, Sex and the City, House). Currently, "Destiny" is 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.
Sounds Like
If life was a movie Zero 7's music would be the soundrack, with it's unique emotional sounds that have a habit of giving you goose bumps. Zero 7 is one in a million, with a style that transcends all genre's.
The men behind U.K. soul outfit Zero 7 -- producers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker -- launched their careers in the music industry as tea boys at a London recording studio. Soon after, however, both were in the thick of action, working alongside a string of well-known British musicians such as the Pet Shop Boys and Robert Plant. They spent the best part of the 1990s honing their production skills behind the scenes. Then, after taking on the name of a nightclub in Honduras, the duo gradually began unleashing their own ideas onto an unsuspecting public. First came a couple of remixes; Radiohead's "Climbing Up the Walls" and Terry Callier's "Love Theme from Spartacus." In 1999, Zero 7 released their first EP, the suitably titled EP 1. Only a handful of copies were made and they sold out in a matter of days. A similar fate awaited their second release, EP 2. Their first album, Simple Things, came out amid much salivating from the media in mid-2001. A collection of laid-back soul, acid jazz, and funk tracks, the album carried collaborations with respected vocalists Mozez, Sia Furler, and Sophie Barker. Their sophomore effort, When It Falls, appeared in March 2004, and it was followed two years later by Garden, which included contributions from longtime favorite Sia as well as Swedish star José González. ~ David Peter Wesolowski, All Music Guide
