来自英伦地区的电音二人组Zero 7,是由两位隐身幕后的制作好手Henry Binns与Sam Hardaker所组成的。2001惊艳四座的出道大碟“Simple Things”,让甫出道的两人被赞喻为英国的Air,这张专辑更顺利让他们拿下全英音乐奖‘最佳新进团体’、及Muzik‘最佳新进艺人’与水星音乐奖‘最佳专辑’的提名。Zero 7散发出无法抗拒地电子氛围魅力,更让他们得到为Radiohead ”Climbing Up The Walls”及Lenny Kravitz的”If You Can ’t Say No”等混音的邀约。2003推出实验意味较浓厚的“When It Falls”,依旧获得乐评一致推崇,在此之间多首单曲也被知名影集(六尺风云、欲望城市、CSI犯罪现场)收录在其原声大碟中。在Zero 7的音乐世界里没有规则及限制,举凡从Soul、Acid Jazz、Funk、Trip-Hop到Ambient Techno等乐风,都巧妙地和谐地糅合在这两位音乐魔法师的手下。
by David Peter Wesolowski
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.