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 EP1. Only a handful of copies were made and they sold out in a matter of days. A similar fate awaited their second release EP2. Their first album, Simple Things, came out amidst 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.
Zero7由Henry Binns及Sam Hardaker两位在伦敦当地录音室工作的哥们儿一起组合而成，在90年代的组建初期主要以改编他人作品的混音版来锻炼他们制作音乐上的一些技术与技巧，其中以改编Radiohead的《Climbing up the walls》和TerryCallier的《Love Theme from Spartacus》两首作品最被人称颂。2001年他们推出了首张大碟《Simple Things》，终于让世人完全的领略了他们在娴熟的驾驭音乐的功力，而专辑的热卖与好评不仅让他们名声大振，也间接的促使了Trip-Hop这种音乐形式在全球的进一步流行。 《When It Falls》是Zero7在2004年3月推出的最新专辑，如果算上去年1月发行的《Simple Things Remixes》这张混音专辑的话，那么这就是他们在连续四年里发行的第四张专辑。在Zero7身上你可以清晰地感受到原本刻板得有些木讷的英国人在电子乐面前那种丝毫不含糊的浪漫表达，在第一曲《Warm Sound》里你几乎会以为重又听到了Air的《Moon Safari》，那种与这个时代逆向的... |
