"Zooropa" was written and recorded during the album's sessions at Windmill Lane Studios and The Factory Studios in Dublin, which took place from March to May 1993 between legs of the Zoo TV Tour. The song was created from two separate pieces of music. The first was a jam session recorded by the band in Dublin during the album's sessions. The second was a soundcheck the band had recorded a few years prior on tour in Australia or New Zealand that the Edge found while listening to cassette recordings of their soundchecks. Along with sound engineer Joe O'Herlihy, the Edge edited the best parts of the soundcheck using Sound Tools to create a song arrangement, which served as a backing track. The two halves of the song were then edited into a stereo mix. Producer Flood created an atmospheric mix and then crossfaded it in with the song's "sombre, ethereal" introduction. The bass guitar in the intro was played by drummer Larry Mullen Jr. while the Edge was busy working on the album's guitar riffs.