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Zero 7
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Zero 7 is a British duo of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, formed in 1997. They studied sound engineering and worked in the 1990s at RAK Studios in London, where they made music for, among others, Pet Shop Boys, Young Disciples and Robert Plant. Their name came from a remix they made of Radiohead's Climbing Up the Walls, the Zero 7 Mix. They had chosen the name after a stay on the Honduran island of Utila, where a bar was called Cero Siete.
Music and breakthrough
Their first EP appeared in 1999. The debut album Simple Things was released in 2001 and reached number twenty-eight in the British album chart, with singers such as Mozez, Sia and Sophie Barker. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. When It Falls followed in 2004, with Tina Dico added, and The Garden in 2006, with José González. Yeah Ghost was released in 2009. After a quiet period In the Half Light appeared in 2024.
Influence
Zero 7 makes downtempo: calm, warm music with a soft beat, jazzy chords and electronic details. The two have sung little themselves and often chose a guest singer. In the early years of this century they therefore often ended up on lounge and chill-out compilations, and showed how pleasant electronic music could sound as background listening too.
Listening
Destiny · Zero 7, 2001Apple Music ↗
Discography
Studio albums
- 2001Simple Things
- 2004When It Falls
- 2006The Garden
- 2009Yeah Ghost
- 2025In the Half Light (instrumental)