Track Listing

1. I Have Seen
2. Polaris
3. Destiny
4. Give It Away
5. Simple Things
6. Red Dust
7. Distractions
8. In The Waiting Line
9. Out Of Town
10. This World
11. Likufanele
12. End Theme

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1321 in Music
• Released on: 2008-01-13
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Zero 7's ability to conjure beautiful lullabies with all the romance of 1960s French pop, as found on their debut long-player Simple Things, would have made them the toast of soundtrack composers and chillout connoisseurs the world over. Unfortunately, two French men beat Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker to the title of Masters Of Comedown Cool, leaving the London duo to a life time of being termed the British Air. And justifiably so to some degree; the similarities between Zero 7's lush cinematic soundscapes and those of Air's Moon Safari and The Virgin Suicides Soundtrack are so strong as to sound almost intentional. Nonetheless, their debut is a truly gorgeous album. All the tried and tested atmospheric tricks are in play--bleeps and whooshes layered over plodding Fender Rhodes chords, swathes of strings and tender trumpet parps--but it's Binns & Hardaker's languid grooves and the soft melancholy of their melodies that make dream-state instrumentals "Give It Away" and "Polaris" utterly enchanting. The real power of Simple Things, however, is in its songs. As beautiful as their ambient strains are, it's when laid beneath the seductive vocals of Australian diva Sia on the ethereal "Destiny" or the heart breaking "Distractions" that their potency becomes apparent. With such moving tracks as these, Zero 7 dispel the notion that Simple Things is just another collection of nice background music and that they're just riding on Air's coattails. --Dan Gennoe

Customer Reviews

A beautifully mellow and melodic album
‘Simple Things’ is producers Henry Binns & Sam Hardaker’s debut album, and is full of sublime music that seems perfectly suited to the countless “lifestyle” programmes that dominate our TV screens at the moment. But don’t let that put you off, as this is a perfect album to listen to when you need to unwind at the end of stressful day.

Each track is a small oasis of calm; full of lush string arrangements, meandering bass lines, gentle drums, Moog’s, Rhodes and some brilliantly sympathetic vocal performances. The vocals are provided by Mozez, Sia Furler (who had a hit with the Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’ inspired ‘Taken for Granted’ in 2000) and Sophie Barker, each performing their lyrics with a laidback delivery that perfectly compliments the Zero 7 style. Mozez’s voice sounds like a gentle Marvin Gaye and sings on the albums standout track ‘I Have Seen’ as well as the title track ‘Simple Things’. Another excellent song is the single ‘Destiny’ featuring a duet by the two female vocalists.

Some tracks are purely instrumental, showing Zero 7’s ear for simple melodies, from humble beginnings growing into full blown opus’s with stings, flutes, trumpets & guitars merging with the organs and drums to produce some beautiful pieces of music highly reminiscent of Air’s masterpiece ‘Moon Safari’. Standout instrumentals include the gorgeous ‘Give It Away’, the African influenced ‘Likufanele’ and the Seventies cop-show theme tune sound-a-like ‘End Theme’, with its brilliant strings and drums performance.

So why not buy ‘Simple Things’ and give it a listen at the end of another hectic day? You know you deserve it.

Tranquility Defined
"Simple Things" is my favourite chillout cd, nothing compares when it comes to getting me to sleep or melting away my stress. The mood is beautifully serene and relaxing and I haven't met anyone so far who hasn't loved it. A definite for anyone who enjoys chillout music or enjoys relaxing to the max!

A Fabulous Debut
Zero 7 are producers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker of north London. Having forged their early careers working with a host of British artists including the Pet Shop Boys and New Order, they spent much of the 90's honing their production skills behind the scenes.

Following a great remix of Radiohead's 'Climbing the Walls', they then released this amazing debut album 'Simple Things' in mid-2001. I did not discover this until hearing the title track Simple Things on a mix album by Gilles Peterson, and it immediately caught my attention.

The production quality of this, a debut album, is simply astounding. The sound is a delicious blend of Air, Royksoop, Lemon Jelly and Bent - electronica with elements of everything from jazz, soul and funk to trip-hop and ambient techno.

I have been listening to the album for several months now and still its appeal has not waned - indeed several of the 'grower' tracks on the album (eg Give It Away and Out Of Town) have taken over from the single material such as I Have Seen, Destiny and In The Waiting Line.

The album starts with the tingling vocals of Mozez on I Have Seen, and blends the next hour into a cohesive set that rarely leaves the listener anything less than engrossed. Zero 7 also introduce a couple of other excellent vocalists in Sia Furler, and Sophie Barker (both of whom feature together in the excellent Destiny), and who match the mood and sound of the album perfectly.

A truly special album, Simple Things is a delicious blend of ambient electronica that I cannot recommend highly enough. One last piece of advice - pick up the version with 2 bonus tracks (the excellent Salt Water Sound and Spinning).

Oh and if you like this, you will be interested to know that Zero 7's second album is due in March 2004.

DGP