Were you surprised
by the success of Simple Thing?
Yes, we were surprised by it's success in the sense
that when you have never released a record before you
have no idea what is in store. Although we did feel
confident that our work was good, I guess because we
liked it ourselves; but it is quite an overwhelming
feeling when people actually go out and buy it and like
it!
How did you get to work together, and how did
the idea of forming Zero 7 come up?
Sam and I have known each other since we were about
fifteen, and we were always into music, going out and
buying records and stuff together. When we left school
Sam had the clever idea of getting a job in a studio,
which we did, RAK studios where we worked for five or
six years. We then set up our own little studio with
our mate Nigel Godrich and worked from there. Over all
these years we always worked on bits of our own music
and hoped one day to get the chance to make our own
music and make our living that way, although we didn't
have exactly a plan of how we would do that. I guess
we got our chance when Nigel got us to do the Climbing
Up The Walls remix for Radiohead, and we came up
with the name Zero 7 for ourselves. After that we did
more remixes and eventually got the chance to make our
own album. So, er, here we are.
Did you already have an idea of what you wanted
to do?
We've always wanted to make music and the chance to
make our own music, and we feel very very lucky that
we can actually make a living out of it.
You were labelled as the British Air when Simple
Things was released. How did you react to this?
Yes we have been labelled that a bit, but labels are
easy to stick on. I can see some comparisons with Air
in our genre, and I do admire their work, but I think
our work stands up on its own, and I hope people can
listen to it and judge it for what it is in itself,
rather than having to compare it or label it as something
else.
With Simple Things being played virtually
everywhere, from bars to TV, were you at any point worried
that it would dilute you work?
I think at the time we were probably quite grateful
for the exposure. And in a way I’ve always had
the attitude that once it's out there it's out there.
But I suppose in reflection it does beg the question,
does where and how music is played change what music
is? I don't think I know the answer to that one…
What is it like to hear your songs everywhere?
At first it was quite freaky, but after a while you
kind of get used to it.
You have toured a lot over the last couple
of years. How did you manage to work on the new album?
Yeah, we did tour a lot after we released simple things,
especially as it was released later in America. The
touring was a completely new experience for us, and
that in itself had a lot of influence on our 2nd album.
Also I am always thinking about music, I always have
some tune or other going round my head, so the process
never really stops in a way. But, saying that, after
touring we did get a good solid eight or nine months
in the studio!
After the success of Simple Things,
a lot of people are expecting you to fail to recreate
the same success. Did that put pressure on you working
on When It Falls?
Yes of course it did. Also, everybody told us that the
2nd album is notoriously tricky! We just tried not to
worry about it too much and just carry on making the
music that we were feeling and liked ourselves, same
as we did with the first, and people will either like
it or not!
Do you read reviews of your records or gigs?
If yes, do you think it influences you in any way?
I try not to! Good or bad. Once you start analysing
your own music or judging it through the eyes of others
your bound to get yourself in a pickle. Not that I don't
value peoples opinions, but I guess I have a few people
who's opinion I really respect that I get regular constructive
criticism from.
Home, the new single, was released
as a digital download three weeks before its street
release. Was it your decision, and do think it is the
future for singles?
No, it wasn't our decision. I'm not actually very up
to date on this stuff, but I do sense that it is the
future. Which is a shame actually because, call me old
fashioned, but I love to buy something tangible. The
actual feel of the piece of music I am buying is part
of the experience for me.
How did you get to work with new vocalist Tina
Dico?
We heard a demo of Tina's a couple of years ago when
she was working on her own album. When we started on
our 2nd album we asked if she had some time, and wrote
some stuff in the studio together. We really got on
and liked each other’s ideas, and just took it
from there really.
You have had some big names remixing tracks
from Simple Things, and Stereolab have remixed
Home. What makes you choose someone to remix
a particular track?
I guess simply, if we like their stuff.
You’ve remixed quite a lot of people
too. What differentiates working on your own material
and working from other people’s work?
Well, when your doing a remix you have a starting point,
a song that's already there, and you work on ideas to
reinterpret that. When it's your own stuff its just
yourselves staring at a blank wall, scratching your
heads.
You must have had a lot of requests for remixes
following the release of Simple Things. What
makes you work on a particular track, and did you turn
some people down?
Yeah, we did have quite a lot of requests. We like to
choose tracks, obviously, firstly, that we like, but
also things that might not seem obvious at first, things
that we feel we could do something interesting with.
And yes we did turn some things down, both because we
didn't feel we could do anything on a certain track,
and because we didn't have time, as we wanted to get
to work on our 2nd album
You have worked with pretty much the same people
on When It Falls as on Simple Things,
and the mood is very similar. Would you say that it
is a continuation of the first album?
Yeah, I guess it is. In the sense that I think everything
is continuous… Sometimes I wonder why I get asked
this question so much. In a way I think there is a tendency
to think that producer acts should somehow change their
style or do something radically different, why didn't
we make a thrashing elektronika album next, would this
have been more artistically challenging? Whereas a band
act would be more expected and accepted in carrying
on in the same vein, and style of music. At the end
of the day we loved the musicians we work with, we like
the songs we write, and we made an album that reflects
how we felt at the time we made it.
Do you think you will carry on working with
these people in the future?
We love the people we work with, and yes we would love
to carry on working with them. However they all have
there own independent projects that they are working
on, so I guess its more a case of if they want to work
with us, and if they can fit us in!
Do you take part in writing lyrics or do you
concentrate on the music?
Mostly we concentrate on the music and the singers write
their own lyrics. However we have dabbled in lyric writing
this time round. Sam wrote the lyrics for a couple of
songs, and I added a word or two here and there.
With bands such as Air, Blue States or Bent,
do you feel you are part of a particular scene?
I don't really feel part of a 'scene' like there was
a jazz scene or a house scene, where people hung out
together and shared ideas. Obviously there are comparisons
to be made in our music and style, which I suppose could
be loosely classed as a 'genre' or something. I don't
think any of us know what 'chill-out' is though.
You’ve obviously spent some time writing
and recording, and now you are about to tour. Which
part do you prefer?
I suppose writing and recording in a studio is what
we are most accustomed to, and feels most like real
normal life to me. However playing live and going on
tour was a massive challenge for us, and is very exciting
and rewarding when people enjoy your shows, also everyone
in the band really gets on and we do have a lot of laughs
on the way. Mainly though, because Sam and I have young
families whom we miss when we are away, we like to be
near to home and getting on with work there.
The new album is called When It Falls.
What is the “it”?
Ahhh… now that would be telling, wouldn't it?
Email interview February 2004
Thank you to Henry & Jamie. |
