Zero 7

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. Then in 2001 they eventually released Their long awaited debut LP "Simple Things", a musical masterpiece, wich is often be mentioned in one sentence with Air and Portishead. But it doesn't really resembles to one of those bands works. It's surely most of the time as relaxed and groovy as air, and sometimes almost Portisheadesque dark and intensive. David Peter Wesolowski, All Music Guide