Zero7 Falls Into Its Groove

If you're an avid watcher of shows like "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," "Sex and the City" or "Six Feet Under," chances are you have probably heard the music of Zero 7.

The British duo - Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker - and its freelance group of collaborative singers - including Sia Furler, Sophie Barker and Tina Dico - recently followed up 2001's well-received debut album, "Simple Things," with its sophomore work, "When it Falls."

Binns and Hardaker's latest work is a bit more on the folk side but still retains the slow- to mid-tempo electronic atmospheric and soulful grooves that have made their songs so popular among mainstream audiences.

"It's a refreshing break from hearing them on home makeover shows; we get bombarded with that back in the U.K." said Binns. "But we had some good ones. My girlfriend watches 'Sex in the City' and that was funny hearing the end sequence to 'Waiting in Line.' Sam is big fan of 'Six Feet Under' and I don't watch much TV but I'm told it's really good and so that was a big privilege. So yeah, the good ones are good ones and the rubbish ones are just, um ... the rubbish ones."

Binns and Hardaker are currently on tour in the U.S. and with them the singers on the album. The time on the road has solidified the group's dynamic, shifting its state from two Englishmen playing electronica with guest singers to a group of musicians touring together like a close-knit rock band.

"Everyone's come on tour so we have all of our singers and we wouldn't dream of doing it without them," said Binns. "It's just about not making us look like a talent show. It kind of feels like Fleetwood Mac, (laughs) no, not quite like that, but you know what I mean? We've all worked to make the show flow and in doing that the personalities have come out more. It's something that's pleasing because I think it's something we should harvest and use for the next record; the band thing has more of an impact."

Both Binns and Hardaker, who went from studio producers to popular musicians, met each other in the late 1980s as interviewees for the same tape operator job at a studio where Binns' childhood friend, producer Nigel Godrich (Radiohead and Beck) was employed.

Binns eventually got the job but Hardaker, who stayed on to work on four studio tracks, was hired later. The studio then became the scene for the "Simple Things" sessions, which went on to sell 800,000 copies worldwide with hit singles like "Destiny" and "In the Waiting Line" that have made their way onto dozens of television shows in both the U.K. and in America.

Binns and Hardaker have once again created a soundscape of soulful melodies and basslines that intertwine string arrangements and the distinct voice of each singer.

"I've always had quite a soft palette when it comes to music I suppose. I mean don't get me wrong, I do sometimes listen to all sorts of music, but when I was a kid everyone was kind of into hip hop and I was listening to Teddy Pendergrass," said Binns. "Although we don't set out to make what they call 'chill out' records, they do come out the way they do. Nevertheless, it is I suppose, quite mellow and soothing (laughs) which I don't know if we aim for but it's something we end up with."

Much of what was recorded on "When it Falls" was inspired by what Binns refers to as emotional upheaval and the duo's record shop experiences in the States. Both Binns and Hardaker were much more involved in the songwriting process this time around, writing lyrics and melodies that at the time, Binns hoped, turned out to be "half decent."

"It's clearly different in that 'Simple Things' in its approach started off as remixes so it was kind of a hodgepodge of music and we put the songs in like a crossword - almost like on top, which can work," said Binns. "But this one we definitely sat down and said we are going to write some songs on 'When it Falls' which is a different approach, really. It's a reflection of that time so it's got all of those elements to it."

Binns and Hardaker met with each singer to fine-tune the lyrical content and this effort more resembled a product that reflected the varying personalities of each artist involved.

"We write the songs with the singers so it's just as much an expression of them as it is us, in a way, although we put our 3 cents-worth in," said Binns. "I think it's hard to do stuff that we feel is good. For instance, the first song on the album, 'Wants Out,' we kept on coming back to it, lord knows why, and it's come out really good, so I'm glad that we persevered. But songwriting is a whole new venture for us, really. We did it on this album and the last but it's not like we've been songwriters for ages like some bands. It kind of strangely comes from a remix approach in a way. You need somebody to sing the words you're writing in order to see how those words are going to sound and I think the song 'Home' is a bit of a departure from what we've done before, personally."

Zero 7 is performing June 4 at the John Anson Ford Theater in Los Angeles.