''Simple Things'' is the debut studio album by

Zero 7 Zero 7 are an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. They began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001 in which their song "Destiny" stayed ...

, released on 23 April 2001. It peaked at number 28 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, staying on the chart for 56 weeks. It was nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

Critical reception

Tim DiGravina of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album 4 stars out of 5, calling it "an accomplished slice of soulful genius that rewards frequent spins." He said, "the duo of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker mix a number of musical elements, such as soul-influenced diva vocals, gurgling and ringing keyboards, and classical string arrangements, into a relaxing, potent wave of sounds." Matt Diehl of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5, saying, "More like jazz on acid than acid jazz, ''Simple Things'' can be hallucinatory yet eminently listenable; it's chill-out music with a little something for your mind as well." For Rob Mitchum, writing for

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

, the album was too similar to

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

's ''

Moon Safari ''Moon Safari'' is the debut studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 16 January 1998 by Source and Virgin Records. ''Moon Safari'' was re-released on 14 April 2008 to mark the album's 10th anniversary, including a bound book ...

''.

Track listing

Source:

In popular culture

* "In the Waiting Line" appeared in the season 6 episode, "The Domino Effect" on ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

'', in the season 3 episode of '' House (Needle in a Haystack)'', and in the 2004 film '' Garden State''. * "Destiny" appeared in the 2002 film ''

Blue Crush ''Blue Crush'' is a 2002 sports film directed by John Stockwell and based on Susan Orlean's 1998 ''Outside'' magazine article "Life's Swell". It stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake and Mika Boorem. The film tells the story of t ...

'', and well the 2009 film '' Obsessed''. * “Give It Away” was used as a background track on the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

show

SMart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...

when sharing viewers artwork that had been sent in, the previous week.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. *

– production, mixing * Demus – mixing (3, 5) *

Mozez Osmond Wright, professionally known as Mozez, is a Jamaican-born and London-based singer, songwriter, and producer. He has released three studio albums, ''So Still'' (2005), ''Wings'' (2015), and ''Lights On'' (2021). Career After moving to Lo ...

– vocals (1, 5, 10) *

Sia Furler Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

– vocals (3, 7) *

Sophie Barker Sophie Alexandra Jessica Barker (born 5 November 1971) is a British singer and songwriter from London, best known for her work with the British downtempo group Zero 7. Biography Barker left University College London after two years to become a ...

– vocals (3, 8, 14) * Philani Mothers - vocals (11) * Dedi Madden – guitar (1, 7, 8) * Allan Simpson – guitar (3, 4, 6) *

Phil Thornalley Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song " Torn" (made famous by Natalie Imbr ...

– guitar (9), bass guitar (9) * Pete Trotman – bass guitar (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12) *

Max Beesley Maxton Gig Beesley Jr. (born 16 April 1971) is an English actor and musician. He has appeared in a variety of television shows such as ''Bodies'', ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', '' Survivors'', '' Mad Dogs'', ''Homeland'', '' Suits ...

– Rhodes piano (5) * The Brilliant Strings – strings (1, 4, 5, 6, 12) * Sally Herbert – violin (1, 7, 10, 11) * Graeme Stewart – trumpet (4, 6) * Simon Elms – trumpet (9) * Dan Litman – flute (6) *

Jeremy Stacey Jeremy Stacey (born 27 September 1963) is a British drummer and keyboard player. His early works included the 1990s band The Lemon Trees (with twin brother Paul Stacey on guitars, Guy Chambers and others) and Denzil. He has also played with She ...

– drums (1, 8, 12) * Miggi Barradas – drums (4) * Ollie Savill – percussion (2) * Jenny Arrel – percussion (11) * House – design

Critical reception

Track listing

In popular culture

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links