Imogen Heap
Encyclopedia
Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap (icon; born 9 December 1977 in the London Borough of Havering
) is a Grammy Award
-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex
. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes. She has produced three solo albums, the latest of which is 2009's Ellipse
, which was a North American chart success and earned Heap two Grammy nominations, winning Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
.
), Heap plays heavily produced and arranged singer-songwriter pop incorporating elements of rock, dance and electronica. As a guest player and collaborator she has played rock (Jeff Beck
), hip-hop (Urban Species
) and theatre/film music.
A skilled multi-instrumentalist, Heap extensively uses manipulated electronic sounds as an integral part of her music. She also mixes ambient sound into her music (such as the sound of a frying pan in use cooking food, in the background of her song "My Secret Friend") and has commented that "certain sounds give the music a width and a space, and that's important."
Heap states that her song lyrics come from personal experience, but are not straightforwardly confessional. She has stated "Most of the time, the lyrics are kind of like my secret messages to my friends or my boyfriend or my mum or my dad. I would never tell them that these songs are about them or which specific lyric is about somebody. Often, when I sit down to write a lyric, it is in the heat of the moment, and something has just happened."
, cello
and clarinet
. She attended Friends School
, a private, Quaker-run boarding school in Saffron Walden. Heap's mother (an art therapist) and her father (a construction rock retailer) separated when she was twelve. By age thirteen, she had begun writing songs.
Heap did not get along well with the music teacher at her boarding school
, so she principally taught herself sequencing
, music engineering, sampling
and production (on Atari
computers). She also taught herself to play the guitar
and drums, and subsequently two percussion/idiophone
instruments, the array mbira
and the Hang. After school, she went on to study at the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology
in Croydon
, South London
.
by his manager Mickey Modern, Heap and Kershaw recorded four demos that Mickey Modern took to Rondor Music. Consequently, a few months later she signed her first record contract at 18 to independent record label Almo Sounds
. Modern and Wood formed Modernwood Management, and managed Heap until 2006, when Modernwood was dissolved. Wood continues to manage the artist via his new company, Radius Music.
During 1996, Heap began working with an experimental pop band called Acacia
, which featured her future collaborator Guy Sigsworth
and was fronted by the singer Alexander Nilere. While never a full member of the band, Heap was a guest vocalist (as a counterpart to Nilere) and contributed to various Acacia single and album tracks. One Acacia song, "Maddening Shroud", would later be covered by Frou Frou.
Mickey Modern asked Dennis Arnold to place Imogen in the line up in the 1996 Prince's Trust Concert in Hyde Park
, London organized by Harvey Goldsmith. Heap performed four songs between sets by The Who
and Eric Clapton
.
of "Imogen Heap") was a mixture of self-penned and self-produced tracks, alongside tracks co-written and produced with established producers such as David Kahne
, former Eurythmic
Dave Stewart
and Guy Sigsworth
. The album was released in 1998 internationally via Almo Sounds, to favorable reviews comparing Heap's angst
-filled songs to work by PJ Harvey
, Kate Bush
and Annie Lennox
. Promotion for the record included a tour of America and performances around Europe. Three singles were commercially released in the UK: "Getting Scared", "Shine" and "Come Here Boy". "Oh Me, Oh My" was sent to US radio stations in place of "Shine".
Heap's early success was soon replaced by problems. Almo Sounds cut funding for UK promotion and gave Heap a deadline to deliver songs for her second album. Upon delivery of the songs, she was told that they lacked "hit potential". It was announced that the record label would be sold to Universal
and its artists moved to other labels or released. Heap was one of the artists who was dropped from the label, leaving her without a record contract. iMegaphone had, however, been licensed from Almo Sounds to Aozora Records
in Japan
, who eventually re-released and re-promoted the album in January 2002, featuring "Blanket" and "Aeroplane" (a Frou Frou remix/remake of one of her B-sides, "Airplane" of the Shine single released in 1998). The album featured new packaging, all-new artwork, and a previously unavailable hidden track, entitled "Kidding", recorded live during her 1999 tour.
Copies of the original Almo Sounds release remain rare. A Brazilian label, Trama Records, currently claims to hold the license to the record and has started re-printing copies of the album in limited quantities. The album was released digitally on the US iTunes Music Store in early 2006. After achieving commercial success with her work with Guy Sigsworth as the duo Frou Frou and her second solo album, Speak for Yourself
.
colleagues Guy Sigsworth and Alexander Nilere for the soundtrack to the independent British film, G:MT – Greenwich Mean Time) and "Blanket" (a collaboration with Urban Species). In 2000, Heap sang on the album You Had It Coming
by Jeff Beck.
(who had co-written and produced "Getting Scared" from iMegaphone) and this led to the pair of them establishing the collaborative project Frou Frou.
The initial concept for Frou Frou was Sigsworth's, and the project was to have been an album written and produced by her with each track featuring a different singer, songwriter, poet or rapper. Heap explains that Sigsworth invited her over to his studio to write lyrics to a four-bar motif he had, with one condition – that she include the word "love" somewhere. The first line she came up with was "lung of love, leaves me breathless", and the Details
album track, "Flicks" was born. A week later, Sigsworth phoned Heap up again, and together they wrote and recorded the future single "Breathe In".
Throughout the process, Frou Frou work was an equal partnership, with Heap and Sigsworth making equal contributions to writing, arrangement, production and instrumental performance and Heap handling all of the vocals.
In August 2002, they released the Details album and singles "Breathe In", "It's Good To Be In Love", and "Must Be Dreaming" (although the latter two were not commercially available). The album was critically acclaimed, but did not enjoy the commercial success that they had been hoping for.
In late 2003, after an extensive promotional tour of the UK, Europe and the US, the duo were told that their record label, Island Records
would not be picking up the option for a second album.
Heap and Sigsworth remain firm friends, and have worked together since the project, including their temporary re-formation in late 2003, when they covered the Bonnie Tyler
classic, "Holding Out for a Hero
", which was featured during the credits of the movie Shrek 2
after Jennifer Saunders
version in the film. Frou Frou saw a resurgence in popularity in 2004, when their album track "Let Go" was featured in the film Garden State
.
In a 2005 interview Heap said of frou frou "(it) was really like a kind of little holiday from my own work. Guy and I, we have always worked together, and then over the years, it became clear that we wanted to do a whole album together. It was very organic and spontaneous - just one of those wonderful things that happens. But there was never a mention of a second record from either of us, and not uncomfortably. We're just both kind of free spirits. I love to work with a lot of different people, but I was also just gagging to see what I could do on my own. But I'm sure in the future, Guy and I will get back together to do another record, or to record a few songs together."
Heap set herself a deadline of one year to make the album, booking a session to master the album one year ahead in December 2004. She re-mortgaged her flat to fund production costs, including renting a studio at Atomic Studios, London (previously inhabited by UK grime
artist, Dizzee Rascal
), and purchasing instruments.
At the end of 2004, with the album completed, Heap premiered two album tracks online, selling them prior to the album's release – "Just for Now" and "Goodnight and Go".
In April 2005, The O.C. featured the vocoded-vocal track, "Hide and Seek
" in the closing scenes of their season two finale. The track was released immediately to digital download
services, such as iTunes
, in the US, where it charted. The track was released to iTunes UK on 5 July 2005 (the same day as the UK airing of the season finale) and entered the official UK download chart.
Heap made a decision to put out the album on her own in the UK, starting her own record company, titled Megaphonic Records. The album was titled Speak for Yourself
.
Speak for Yourself was released in the UK on 18 July 2005 on CD and iTunes UK, where it entered the top 10 chart. The initial 10,000 physical copies pressed sold out, distributed through large and independent record stores and Heap's own online shop.
In August 2005, Heap announced that she had licensed Speak for Yourself to Sony BMG imprint RCA Victor for the album release in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The album was released in November 2005 and debuted at #144 in the Billboard Top 200 album chart. In concert, Heap performed solo, controlling the sound through her Apple PowerBook
laptop, as well as singing and playing the piano and array mbira
.
She returned from the US, already having sold over 120,000 copies.
vice president Nick Raphael. The deal meant that the album could have the promotional backing provided by a respected major label, whilst Heap retained sole control and the team she established for Megaphonic Records.
Speak for Yourself was re-released on the label on 24 April 2006, ahead of a full promotional push on 15 May, a week after the second single, "Goodnight and Go", was commercially released in the UK.
In August 2006, Heap performed a set at the V Festival
, where it was announced that "Headlock" was to be the third single to be lifted from the album, and released on 16 October 2006 in the UK.
In late September and early October, Heap embarked on a tour of the UK, holding a competition on MySpace
for different support acts for each venue, before touring throughout Canada and the US in November and December. This was her first tour of North America that included a band, incorporating upright bass, percussion, and support acts Kid Beyond
and Levi Weaver
on beatbox and guitar, respectively. In December 2006, Heap was featured on the front page of The Green Room magazine.
On 7 December 2006, Heap received two Grammy
nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, one for Best New Artist and the other for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media for "Can't Take It In".
, Heap posted vlogs, or VBlogs as she called them, through YouTube
.
She used these to comment on the album as well as update on its release.
The album's release was pushed back multiple times.
These included Heap being asked to perform at the annual event PopTech in October 2008. During the event, she premiered one of her album's songs, "Wait it Out".
Heap announced on her Twitter
page that Ellipses first single would be "First Train Home".
On 17 August 2009 Heap made the entire album Ellipse available for live streaming via her webpage.
Ellipse
was released in the United Kingdom on 24 August, and in the United States on 25 August.
The first song, initially titled #heapsong1 and later retitled "Lifeline", premiered worldwide on 28 March 2011 via Ustream
along with a live remix by Tim Exile. "Lifeline" was released on 30 March 2011 as a digital download from Imogen's website and via iTunes, Amazon and other digital retailers. Released alongside this was a 12 page 3DiCD package (a 3D virtual CD) including crowd sourced (and paid for) images, the instrumental version of the song, the "seeds and solos only" version and "heap speaks seeds and solos" - an-18 minute commentary by Heap on how the sounds and solos were used in "Lifeline". The whole project can be found at her website.
hit "Spooky" for the soundtrack to the Reese Witherspoon
film Just Like Heaven. Her song "Hide and Seek" was featured in The Last Kiss
, starring Zach Braff
(who used her former band Frou Frou's "Let Go" in his 2004 film Garden State
), and was also used in a 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live
, hosted by Shia LaBeouf
. "The Moment I Said It" was also used in the episode "Seven Seconds" of the CBS
crime drama Criminal Minds
.
In 2004, while recording her second solo album, she was commissioned to record a cover of a short nursery rhyme for the HBO television series, Six Feet Under, entitled "I'm A Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch)".
In late 2005, Heap was asked to write a track for the soundtrack of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
entitled "Can't Take It In", when a track that fellow Brit singer Dido
submitted was deemed unfitting. Heap's track is played at the end of the film in an orchestral version produced by Heap and Harry Gregson Williams, who scored the movie. In addition, she composed a track for the film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
, but it was deemed to be too dark in tone for the film. Instead, it was included in her album Ellipse
as "2-1". 2-1 has also featured in CSI Miami (Season 8 Episode 9), as well as promotional trailer
s for the film The Lovely Bones
.
In March 2006, Heap completed a track about locusts, entitled "Glittering Cloud", for a CD of music about the plagues of Egypt entitled Plague Songs
, accompanying The Margate Exodus project, for musical director Brian Eno
.
Heap recorded an a cappella
version of the Leonard Cohen
track "Hallelujah", for the season three finale of The O.C.
, and her "Not Now But Soon" was included on the original soundtrack for the NBC
show, Heroes
.
, The OC, SNL, Garden State
, and So You Think You Can Dance.
Also notable is the sampling of Heap's song "Hide & Seek
" in Jason DeRulo
's single "Whatcha Say
", which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps
used Heap's song "Aha" in their 2010 production titled, "Metropolis: The Future is Now"
, Temposhark
, LHB, J. Peter Schwalm, Way Out West
, Jon Bon Jovi
, Mich Gerber, Sean Lennon
, Urban Species, Matt Willis
, Jon Hopkins
, MIKA
, Acacia
, Britney Spears
, Nik Kershaw
, Blue October
, Joshua Radin
, Nitin Sawhney
and I Fight Dragons
.
, an online auditorium, to take questions from listeners over video chat.
Imogen also teamed up with Vokle
to hold open cello auditions for her North American tour. She provided sheet music for “Aha” on her website and encouraged local fans to learn the part and audition live via Vokle
. Imogen would then pick the cellist to accompany her for that particular city - sometimes with the help of viewers and her puppet Lion, Harold.
In 2010 Imogen opened her online auditions to singers and choirs and invited them to audition via submitted YouTube
videos to accompany her on stage as she performed the song "Earth" from Ellipse. The winner of each local show was also invited to do a 15 minute gig of their own. In the studio, the official album recording of "Earth" was made up entirely of numerous tracks of vocals.
July 2011 saw Imogen unveil a pair of in development, high-tech musical gloves at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. Inspired by the VAMP system developed by Elly Jessop at MIT’s media lab, Imogen set out to develop the musical gloves in collaboration with Thomas Mitchell, a lecturer in music systems at the University of the West of England, Bristol. The gloves combine sensors developed by 5DT, x-io Technologies with Shure microphones.
Using nothing but hand gestures, Imogen is currently able to amplify/record/loop acoustic instruments and her voice, play virtual instruments and manipulate these sounds live. Imogen has for many years been working toward a less constricting live set up which enables her to be mobile while performing live multiple musical production tasks, songs and improvising spontaneously without the need 'to go back to basecamp'. The gloves enable the audience to instinctively understand and connect with the process of what's going on on stage - the 'hidden' 50% of her performance. This is part of a larger audio/visual performance project Imogen has been working towards for a couple of years with the aim of touring in 2013.
, Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso and to underline the human rights
situation in Tibet. The album was issued on 5 August via iTunes
and on 19 August in music stores around the world. On 12 October 2008, Heap also Participated in "Run 10k: Cancer Research UK," placing fifth of the women in the actual run and raising over £1000 for the cause with the help of her fans.
In 2008 Imogen was asked to perform at POP!Tech in Camden, Maine (US). There she performed selections from her then forthcoming album Ellipse. After her set and an encouraging plea for another performance later in the conference by the audience and organizers, Imogen agreed. Having nothing else prepared though, she decided to improvise a song on the spot with parameters (tempo, key) suggested by the audience. After the show, Imogen was asked by a Poptech attendee if she would give the newly created piece of music to his charity. A ‘lightbulb’ moment occurred in Heap’s head and she saw the potential in doing these improvised pieces for local charities at each show during the tour she would soon begin.
The first of these songs materialized at Imogen’s show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, in London on the 19th of February 2010. Using the same parameters and audience participation from POP!Tech, Imogen improvised a song titled, "The Shepherdess". After the show, Imogen made the song available worldwide as a digital download on her website asking for donations per download. All proceeds went to the Great Ormond Street Hospital where Imogen was diagnosed with osteomyelitis
and underwent life-saving surgery as a little girl. Loving the concept, Imogen rolled this out for her North American Tour, donating all the proceeds for each song to a local charity from that city.
In 2011 Imogen was set to play a benefit concert in New Zealand's Christchurch city to help rebuild the Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti
High School, following a severe 6.3 aftershock in February originating from the 7.1 earthquake that struck the Canterbury region in September 2010. The concert was held at the Burnside High Aurora Centre, also featuring performances from Roseanna Gamlen-Greene, and The Harbour Union including The Eastern, Lindon Puffin, Delaney Davidson and The Unfaithful Ways.
.
The initial event was inspired by the 2010 Pakistan floods
. Triggered by monsoon rains, the floods left approximately one-fifth of the country of Pakistan
underwater, affecting over 14 million people and damaging or destroying over 900,000 homes. Teaming up with Richard Branson
’s Virgin Unite and Vokle.com, Heap and Ermacorda create an online webcast/fundraiser to raise awareness and money for the flood stricken. Hosted by comedian, creative, and internet personality Ze Frank
, the webcast included a series of conversations with Cameron Sinclair
of Architecture for Humanity
, Gary Slutkin, and Anders Wilhelmson, (and later Richard Branson
and Mary Robinson
) with live performances by musicians Ben Folds
, Amanda Palmer
, Kate Havnevik
, KT Tunstall
, Josh Groban
, Kaki King
, Zoe Keating
and Mark Isham
.
The premise of Live 4 X
thus established, Heap has since continued to refine the model, organize, host, and perform a number of charitable, streaming-live, concert events. By integrating live entertainment with educated discussion and technology, Live 4 X
became an effective charitable outreach tool.
Following the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of 2011, Heap told Washington Times Communities journalist and recording artist Jennifer Grassman
, that she intended to continue organizing Live 4 X
events to benefit various charitable causes.
Catalog of Live 4 X events to date:
, Amanda Palmer
, Kate Havnevik
, KT Tunstall
, Josh Groban
, and Zoe Keating
. In an ironic turn of events, Heap, was kept from appearing on Live 4 Pakistan due to Hurricane Earl
which at the time was progressing along the US eastern seaboard
. Heap, stranded and unable to get an internet connection, later posted a video message as well as a performance of her song “Wait It Out” from Ellipse. February 3, 2011 – Live 4 Capetown
April 11, 2011 – Live 4 Sendai raised funds for Japanese tsunami recovery following the disastrous Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. The event was also used to solicit rebuilding design ideas on behalf of Architecture for Humanity
. Performers included Amanda Palmer
, Ben Folds
, KT Tunstall
and Jamie Cullum
and hosted by Ze Frank
.
Imogen continued her travels, this time with only a laptop and video camera on hand as she began her writing trip for her next album. Nine weeks later she returned to the UK with the beginnings of the award-winning Ellipse and footage (as requested by a fan to film the making of the album) from its quiet beginning. Back in Essex
, Imogen sought the talents of long-time friend and film maker Justine Pearsall to continue documenting the creation of the album. The film documents every moment of joy, excitement, frustration, and even the renovation of the Imogen’s childhood home including turning her old playroom into her new home studio. Everything In-Between: The Story of Ellipse is scheduled to be released in November 2010.
On November 5, 2010 at the Royal Albert Hall
, Heap conducted an orchestra (including friends and family) as they performed an original composition by Imogen herself orchestrated by Andrew Skeet. It was the score to the concept film Love The Earth - in creative partnership and co-production with Thomas Ermacora again for another Bubbletank production - in which fans were invited to submit video footage highlighting all of the breathtaking qualities of nature to be selected and edited into a film. This performance was broadcasted live worldwide.
In March for the Birds' Eye Festival at the BFi Imogen composed in collaboration with Andrew Skeet an a cappella choral score to the first ever surrealist film ‘The Seashell and the Clergyman’ (Germaine Dulac, 1927) with the Holst Singers.
Heap also performed in the Film and Music Arena at Latitude Festival in 2011.
London Borough of Havering
The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in North East London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in Havering is Romford and the other main communities are Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham. The borough is mainly characterised by suburban development with large...
) is a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes. She has produced three solo albums, the latest of which is 2009's Ellipse
Ellipse (album)
Ellipse is the third studio album from Grammy Award-winning British singer–songwriter Imogen Heap. After returning from a round the world writing trip, Heap completed the album at her childhood home in Essex, converting her old playroom in the basement into a studio...
, which was a North American chart success and earned Heap two Grammy nominations, winning Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1959 the award was known as Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical...
.
Musical and songwriting style
For her solo work (as well as her work with Frou Frou and AcaciaAcacia (band)
Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate...
), Heap plays heavily produced and arranged singer-songwriter pop incorporating elements of rock, dance and electronica. As a guest player and collaborator she has played rock (Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
), hip-hop (Urban Species
Urban Species (band)
Urban Species is a British hip-hop band, best known for several hit singles during the 1990s. The band's music draws on a diverse range of influences and combines live playing with samples and programming, resulting in an organic sound that has sometimes been compared to a British version of...
) and theatre/film music.
A skilled multi-instrumentalist, Heap extensively uses manipulated electronic sounds as an integral part of her music. She also mixes ambient sound into her music (such as the sound of a frying pan in use cooking food, in the background of her song "My Secret Friend") and has commented that "certain sounds give the music a width and a space, and that's important."
Heap states that her song lyrics come from personal experience, but are not straightforwardly confessional. She has stated "Most of the time, the lyrics are kind of like my secret messages to my friends or my boyfriend or my mum or my dad. I would never tell them that these songs are about them or which specific lyric is about somebody. Often, when I sit down to write a lyric, it is in the heat of the moment, and something has just happened."
Early life
Heap played music from an early age, becoming classically trained in several instruments including pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
. She attended Friends School
Friends School Saffron Walden
Friends' School is an Quaker independent school located in Saffron Walden, Essex, situated approximately 12 miles south of the city of Cambridge...
, a private, Quaker-run boarding school in Saffron Walden. Heap's mother (an art therapist) and her father (a construction rock retailer) separated when she was twelve. By age thirteen, she had begun writing songs.
Heap did not get along well with the music teacher at her boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, so she principally taught herself sequencing
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, music engineering, sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
and production (on Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
computers). She also taught herself to play the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and drums, and subsequently two percussion/idiophone
Idiophone
An idiophone is any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument's vibrating, without the use of strings or membranes. It is the first of the four main divisions in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification...
instruments, the array mbira
Array mbira
The Array mbira is a hand-crafted modern musical instrument with a unique harp or bell-like sound. It is made in the United States by its inventor Bill Wesley and manufactured by Wesley with Patrick Hadley in San Diego, California, United States. It is a radical redesign of the African mbira and is...
and the Hang. After school, she went on to study at the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology
BRIT School
The London School for Performing Arts & Technology is a British school located in Selhurst, Croydon, in London, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible...
in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
.
Early work as musician (including work with Acacia)
After being introduced to Nik KershawNik Kershaw
Nik Kershaw is an English singer-songwriter. The one time jazz-funk guitarist was a mid-1980s teen idol. His 50 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1984 beat all other soloists...
by his manager Mickey Modern, Heap and Kershaw recorded four demos that Mickey Modern took to Rondor Music. Consequently, a few months later she signed her first record contract at 18 to independent record label Almo Sounds
Almo Sounds
Almo Sounds is a record label which was started in 1994 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss after they sold A&M Records to PolyGram. The intent of the label was to recreate the initial concept of A&M Records as a small, "boutique" label....
. Modern and Wood formed Modernwood Management, and managed Heap until 2006, when Modernwood was dissolved. Wood continues to manage the artist via his new company, Radius Music.
During 1996, Heap began working with an experimental pop band called Acacia
Acacia (band)
Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate...
, which featured her future collaborator Guy Sigsworth
Guy Sigsworth
Guy Sigsworth is a U.K. based composer, producer and songwriter. In his career to date he has worked with many famous artists, including Seal, Björk, Goldie, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kate Havnevik, Bebel Gilberto, Mozez, David Sylvian and Alanis Morissette...
and was fronted by the singer Alexander Nilere. While never a full member of the band, Heap was a guest vocalist (as a counterpart to Nilere) and contributed to various Acacia single and album tracks. One Acacia song, "Maddening Shroud", would later be covered by Frou Frou.
Mickey Modern asked Dennis Arnold to place Imogen in the line up in the 1996 Prince's Trust Concert in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, London organized by Harvey Goldsmith. Heap performed four songs between sets by The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
.
1998–2000: iMegaphone
Heap's debut album, iMegaphone (an anagramAnagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of "Imogen Heap") was a mixture of self-penned and self-produced tracks, alongside tracks co-written and produced with established producers such as David Kahne
David Kahne
David Kahne is an American record producer. Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and then became notable for his role as in-house producer and engineer at 415 Records, the first American new wave music label, and for his subsequent roles as Vice President of A&R at Columbia...
, former Eurythmic
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
Dave Stewart
David A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
and Guy Sigsworth
Guy Sigsworth
Guy Sigsworth is a U.K. based composer, producer and songwriter. In his career to date he has worked with many famous artists, including Seal, Björk, Goldie, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kate Havnevik, Bebel Gilberto, Mozez, David Sylvian and Alanis Morissette...
. The album was released in 1998 internationally via Almo Sounds, to favorable reviews comparing Heap's angst
Angst
Angst is an English, German, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch word for fear or anxiety . It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety or inner turmoil...
-filled songs to work by PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
and Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
. Promotion for the record included a tour of America and performances around Europe. Three singles were commercially released in the UK: "Getting Scared", "Shine" and "Come Here Boy". "Oh Me, Oh My" was sent to US radio stations in place of "Shine".
Heap's early success was soon replaced by problems. Almo Sounds cut funding for UK promotion and gave Heap a deadline to deliver songs for her second album. Upon delivery of the songs, she was told that they lacked "hit potential". It was announced that the record label would be sold to Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
and its artists moved to other labels or released. Heap was one of the artists who was dropped from the label, leaving her without a record contract. iMegaphone had, however, been licensed from Almo Sounds to Aozora Records
Aozora Records
' is a Japanese record company owned by .Established May 3 2000 to handle the independent release of Hitomi Yaida's debut maxi CD Howling to the Kansai area of Japan, it was the recipient of a bidding war amongst the larger Recording Companies for distribution rights which was won by...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, who eventually re-released and re-promoted the album in January 2002, featuring "Blanket" and "Aeroplane" (a Frou Frou remix/remake of one of her B-sides, "Airplane" of the Shine single released in 1998). The album featured new packaging, all-new artwork, and a previously unavailable hidden track, entitled "Kidding", recorded live during her 1999 tour.
Copies of the original Almo Sounds release remain rare. A Brazilian label, Trama Records, currently claims to hold the license to the record and has started re-printing copies of the album in limited quantities. The album was released digitally on the US iTunes Music Store in early 2006. After achieving commercial success with her work with Guy Sigsworth as the duo Frou Frou and her second solo album, Speak for Yourself
Speak For Yourself
-Charts:...
.
2001: Interim work
In the gap between the end of promotion for iMegaphone internationally and the re-promotion, Heap had also begun to think about her second solo album, and had started writing songs, both solo, as well as working with Guy Sigsworth; however, as she was without a record deal, the songs were shelved. During the time when she was unsigned, Heap appeared on two UK singles, "Meantime" (a track written by her former AcaciaAcacia (band)
Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate...
colleagues Guy Sigsworth and Alexander Nilere for the soundtrack to the independent British film, G:MT – Greenwich Mean Time) and "Blanket" (a collaboration with Urban Species). In 2000, Heap sang on the album You Had It Coming
You Had It Coming
-Personnel:*Jeff Beck – electric guitar*Jennifer Batten – electric guitar*Imogen Heap – vocals on " Rollin' And Tumblin' " & "Dirty Mind"*Aiden Love – programming*Randy Hope-Taylor – bass guitar*Matt Tait – engineering*Kevin Metcalfe – mastering...
by Jeff Beck.
2002–2003: Frou Frou
Heap had kept in contact with Guy SigsworthGuy Sigsworth
Guy Sigsworth is a U.K. based composer, producer and songwriter. In his career to date he has worked with many famous artists, including Seal, Björk, Goldie, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kate Havnevik, Bebel Gilberto, Mozez, David Sylvian and Alanis Morissette...
(who had co-written and produced "Getting Scared" from iMegaphone) and this led to the pair of them establishing the collaborative project Frou Frou.
The initial concept for Frou Frou was Sigsworth's, and the project was to have been an album written and produced by her with each track featuring a different singer, songwriter, poet or rapper. Heap explains that Sigsworth invited her over to his studio to write lyrics to a four-bar motif he had, with one condition – that she include the word "love" somewhere. The first line she came up with was "lung of love, leaves me breathless", and the Details
Details (album)
-Personnel:*Imogen Heap: Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Piano, Drums, Percussion, Samples, Software*Guy Sigsworth: Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Piano, Drums, Percussion, Sampling, Software*Mich Gerber: Bowed Upright Bass...
album track, "Flicks" was born. A week later, Sigsworth phoned Heap up again, and together they wrote and recorded the future single "Breathe In".
Throughout the process, Frou Frou work was an equal partnership, with Heap and Sigsworth making equal contributions to writing, arrangement, production and instrumental performance and Heap handling all of the vocals.
In August 2002, they released the Details album and singles "Breathe In", "It's Good To Be In Love", and "Must Be Dreaming" (although the latter two were not commercially available). The album was critically acclaimed, but did not enjoy the commercial success that they had been hoping for.
In late 2003, after an extensive promotional tour of the UK, Europe and the US, the duo were told that their record label, Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
would not be picking up the option for a second album.
Heap and Sigsworth remain firm friends, and have worked together since the project, including their temporary re-formation in late 2003, when they covered the Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
classic, "Holding Out for a Hero
Holding Out for a Hero
"Holding Out for a Hero" is a song written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford, originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler. It was released in 1984 on the soundtrack to the film Footloose. It later appeared on Tyler's Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire album. It hit #96 for the first time in UK in 1984,...
", which was featured during the credits of the movie Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
after Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
version in the film. Frou Frou saw a resurgence in popularity in 2004, when their album track "Let Go" was featured in the film Garden State
Garden State (film)
Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...
.
In a 2005 interview Heap said of frou frou "(it) was really like a kind of little holiday from my own work. Guy and I, we have always worked together, and then over the years, it became clear that we wanted to do a whole album together. It was very organic and spontaneous - just one of those wonderful things that happens. But there was never a mention of a second record from either of us, and not uncomfortably. We're just both kind of free spirits. I love to work with a lot of different people, but I was also just gagging to see what I could do on my own. But I'm sure in the future, Guy and I will get back together to do another record, or to record a few songs together."
2004–2005: The O.C. and Speak for Yourself
In December 2003, Heap announced on her Web site that she was going to write and produce her second solo album, using her site as a blog to publicise progress.Heap set herself a deadline of one year to make the album, booking a session to master the album one year ahead in December 2004. She re-mortgaged her flat to fund production costs, including renting a studio at Atomic Studios, London (previously inhabited by UK grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
artist, Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
), and purchasing instruments.
At the end of 2004, with the album completed, Heap premiered two album tracks online, selling them prior to the album's release – "Just for Now" and "Goodnight and Go".
In April 2005, The O.C. featured the vocoded-vocal track, "Hide and Seek
Hide and Seek (Imogen Heap song)
"Hide and Seek" is the first single by Imogen Heap from her album Speak for Yourself. The song is performed with the sole accompaniment being a keyboard synth transformed by a vocoder, creating an altered a cappella sound.-Television:...
" in the closing scenes of their season two finale. The track was released immediately to digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
services, such as iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, in the US, where it charted. The track was released to iTunes UK on 5 July 2005 (the same day as the UK airing of the season finale) and entered the official UK download chart.
Heap made a decision to put out the album on her own in the UK, starting her own record company, titled Megaphonic Records. The album was titled Speak for Yourself
Speak For Yourself
-Charts:...
.
Speak for Yourself was released in the UK on 18 July 2005 on CD and iTunes UK, where it entered the top 10 chart. The initial 10,000 physical copies pressed sold out, distributed through large and independent record stores and Heap's own online shop.
In August 2005, Heap announced that she had licensed Speak for Yourself to Sony BMG imprint RCA Victor for the album release in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The album was released in November 2005 and debuted at #144 in the Billboard Top 200 album chart. In concert, Heap performed solo, controlling the sound through her Apple PowerBook
PowerBook
The PowerBook was a line of Macintosh laptop computers that was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1991 to 2006. During its lifetime, the PowerBook went through several major revisions and redesigns, often being the first to incorporate features that would later become...
laptop, as well as singing and playing the piano and array mbira
Array mbira
The Array mbira is a hand-crafted modern musical instrument with a unique harp or bell-like sound. It is made in the United States by its inventor Bill Wesley and manufactured by Wesley with Patrick Hadley in San Diego, California, United States. It is a radical redesign of the African mbira and is...
.
She returned from the US, already having sold over 120,000 copies.
2006–2007: The year of the 'White Rabbit'
Heap also announced, on her return to the UK, that she had signed a deal for the album to be released internationally, as well as re-promoted in the UK, with a new imprint of Sony BMG, White Rabbit, run by former Sony BMG UK A&RA&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
vice president Nick Raphael. The deal meant that the album could have the promotional backing provided by a respected major label, whilst Heap retained sole control and the team she established for Megaphonic Records.
Speak for Yourself was re-released on the label on 24 April 2006, ahead of a full promotional push on 15 May, a week after the second single, "Goodnight and Go", was commercially released in the UK.
In August 2006, Heap performed a set at the V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
, where it was announced that "Headlock" was to be the third single to be lifted from the album, and released on 16 October 2006 in the UK.
In late September and early October, Heap embarked on a tour of the UK, holding a competition on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
for different support acts for each venue, before touring throughout Canada and the US in November and December. This was her first tour of North America that included a band, incorporating upright bass, percussion, and support acts Kid Beyond
Kid Beyond
Kid Beyond is a singer, beat boxer and live looper based in the San Francisco area.-Early career:Chaikin attended Brown University and was a leader in the co-ed fraternity Zeta Delta Xi. He sang in the Jabberwocks, a student a cappella group...
and Levi Weaver
Levi Weaver
Levi Weaver is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Colorado and raised in Texas, Weaver moved to Birmingham, England in 2005 after his former band broke up. He released his first EP, the self-recorded "Civil War Between My Heart and Mind," in April 2006...
on beatbox and guitar, respectively. In December 2006, Heap was featured on the front page of The Green Room magazine.
On 7 December 2006, Heap received two Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, one for Best New Artist and the other for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media for "Can't Take It In".
2007–2009: Ellipse
Throughout the creation of her album EllipseEllipse (album)
Ellipse is the third studio album from Grammy Award-winning British singer–songwriter Imogen Heap. After returning from a round the world writing trip, Heap completed the album at her childhood home in Essex, converting her old playroom in the basement into a studio...
, Heap posted vlogs, or VBlogs as she called them, through YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
She used these to comment on the album as well as update on its release.
The album's release was pushed back multiple times.
These included Heap being asked to perform at the annual event PopTech in October 2008. During the event, she premiered one of her album's songs, "Wait it Out".
Heap announced on her Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page that Ellipses first single would be "First Train Home".
On 17 August 2009 Heap made the entire album Ellipse available for live streaming via her webpage.
Ellipse
Ellipse (album)
Ellipse is the third studio album from Grammy Award-winning British singer–songwriter Imogen Heap. After returning from a round the world writing trip, Heap completed the album at her childhood home in Essex, converting her old playroom in the basement into a studio...
was released in the United Kingdom on 24 August, and in the United States on 25 August.
2011–present:
Heapsongs On 14 March 2011 Heap officially started work on a new record as fans sent in nearly 900 "sound seeds", or samples of everyday sounds such as a "dishwasher door", a "bicycle" or a "burning match". Heap has stated that the concept for this record will be to record one track over a two week period every 3 months. Each song and video will be released immediately.The first song, initially titled #heapsong1 and later retitled "Lifeline", premiered worldwide on 28 March 2011 via Ustream
Ustream
Ustream is a website which consists of a network of diverse channels providing a platform for lifecasting and live video streaming of events online. Established in March 2007, the site has over 2,000,000 registered users who generate 1,500,000+ hours of live streamed content per month with over ten...
along with a live remix by Tim Exile. "Lifeline" was released on 30 March 2011 as a digital download from Imogen's website and via iTunes, Amazon and other digital retailers. Released alongside this was a 12 page 3DiCD package (a 3D virtual CD) including crowd sourced (and paid for) images, the instrumental version of the song, the "seeds and solos only" version and "heap speaks seeds and solos" - an-18 minute commentary by Heap on how the sounds and solos were used in "Lifeline". The whole project can be found at her website.
List of heapsongs so far:
- heapsong1 is entitled "Lifeline" and was released on 30 March 2011.
- heapsong2 is entitled "Propeller Seeds" and was released on 5 July 2011.
- heapsong3 is entitled "Neglected Space" and was released on 17 October 2011.
- heapsong4 is entitled "Minds Without Fear" and was released on 21 October 2011. "Minds Without Fear" was the first song to be featured on the new Indian show, "The DewaristsThe DewaristsThe Dewarists is a musical television series on Star World India. The series is part music documentary and part travelogue. The show casts musicians from various parts of the world, collaborating to create original music while travelling across India. So far the first five episodes has been showcased...
"
Recordings for television and film
Heap has recorded several songs for films, including a cover of the Classics IVClassics IV
The Classics IV were a band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965, given credit for beginning the "soft southern rock" sound...
hit "Spooky" for the soundtrack to the Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
film Just Like Heaven. Her song "Hide and Seek" was featured in The Last Kiss
The Last Kiss
The Last Kiss is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film which is based on the 2001 Italian film L'ultimo bacio, directed by Gabriele Muccino. The plot revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment.The film stars Zach Braff,...
, starring Zach Braff
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
(who used her former band Frou Frou's "Let Go" in his 2004 film Garden State
Garden State (film)
Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...
), and was also used in a 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, hosted by Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
. "The Moment I Said It" was also used in the episode "Seven Seconds" of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
crime drama Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
.
In 2004, while recording her second solo album, she was commissioned to record a cover of a short nursery rhyme for the HBO television series, Six Feet Under, entitled "I'm A Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch)".
In late 2005, Heap was asked to write a track for the soundtrack of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
entitled "Can't Take It In", when a track that fellow Brit singer Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
submitted was deemed unfitting. Heap's track is played at the end of the film in an orchestral version produced by Heap and Harry Gregson Williams, who scored the movie. In addition, she composed a track for the film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
, but it was deemed to be too dark in tone for the film. Instead, it was included in her album Ellipse
Ellipse (album)
Ellipse is the third studio album from Grammy Award-winning British singer–songwriter Imogen Heap. After returning from a round the world writing trip, Heap completed the album at her childhood home in Essex, converting her old playroom in the basement into a studio...
as "2-1". 2-1 has also featured in CSI Miami (Season 8 Episode 9), as well as promotional trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
s for the film The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones is a 2002 novel by Alice Sebold. It is the story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while she comes to terms with her own death. The novel received much critical...
.
In March 2006, Heap completed a track about locusts, entitled "Glittering Cloud", for a CD of music about the plagues of Egypt entitled Plague Songs
Plague Songs
Plague Songs is an album of songs, by various artists, about the ten Plagues of Egypt described in the Book of Exodus.The songs were originally commissioned by the British arts organisation Artangel for its project The Margate Exodus, which centres around a one-day event that took place in Margate...
, accompanying The Margate Exodus project, for musical director Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
.
Heap recorded an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
version of the Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
track "Hallelujah", for the season three finale of The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
, and her "Not Now But Soon" was included on the original soundtrack for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
show, Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
.
Song usage
Imogen Heap and Frou Frou songs have been featured in various TV shows, movies, advertisements, and marching band productions, notably including CSICSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, The OC, SNL, Garden State
Garden State (film)
Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...
, and So You Think You Can Dance.
Also notable is the sampling of Heap's song "Hide & Seek
Hide and Seek (Imogen Heap song)
"Hide and Seek" is the first single by Imogen Heap from her album Speak for Yourself. The song is performed with the sole accompaniment being a keyboard synth transformed by a vocoder, creating an altered a cappella sound.-Television:...
" in Jason DeRulo
Jason Derulo
Jason Joel Desrouleaux , better known by his stage name Jason Derülo, is an American singer-songwriter, actor and dancer. After producing records for several artists and writing songs for Cash Money Records, co-founder of the label Birdman, Young Money Entertainment owner Lil Wayne and rapper...
's single "Whatcha Say
Whatcha Say
"Whatcha Say" is the debut single by American recording artist Jason Derülo. It was produced by J. R. Rotem with additional production by German producer Fuego and samples the song "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. "Whatcha Say" topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.Derülo recorded a...
", which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps
Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps
The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class drum and bugle corps based in Canton, Ohio, and founded in 1972; The Bluecoats are a member corps of Drum Corps International. The corps name stems from the origins of the organization, based out of the Canton Police Boys' Club, in honor of the...
used Heap's song "Aha" in their 2010 production titled, "Metropolis: The Future is Now"
Collaborations
Heap has collaborated as a guest vocalist, co-writer, remixer or producer with many various artists throughout her career. Among them co-writing and producing By The Time for Mika and Now or Never for Josh Groban. The diverse range of other musicians Heap has worked with include IAMX, Jeff BeckJeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Temposhark
Temposhark
Temposhark is an English electronic rock band, formed in London and Brighton by singer-songwriter Robert Diament. Temposhark are best known for their songs Bye Bye Baby, Joy, It's Better To Have Loved and Not That Big; a duet with singer Imogen Heap which appears on their 2008 debut album The...
, LHB, J. Peter Schwalm, Way Out West
Way Out West (producers)
Way Out West are a UK progressive house, trance and progressive breaks group from Bristol, England consisting of producers and DJs Jody Wisternoff and Nick Warren. They came to fame in the 1990s with chart hit "The Gift", and have since released four albums....
, Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
, Mich Gerber, Sean Lennon
Sean Lennon
is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and actor. He is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His godfather is Sir Elton John.-Early life and education:...
, Urban Species, Matt Willis
Matt Willis
Matthew James Willis is an English singer-songwriter. He found fame as a founding member of the band Busted.- Early years :...
, Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins is a London-based producer and musician who writes and performs his own melodic electronica and dance music. After starting his career performing keyboard for Imogen Heap, he's produced or contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Coldplay, David Holmes, and others...
, MIKA
Mika
Mika may refer to:* Mika , a singer-songwriter based in London* FC MIKA, Armenian football team**Mika Stadium-Male given name :* Mika Aaltonen , Finnish football player...
, Acacia
Acacia (band)
Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Nik Kershaw
Nik Kershaw
Nik Kershaw is an English singer-songwriter. The one time jazz-funk guitarist was a mid-1980s teen idol. His 50 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1984 beat all other soloists...
, Blue October
Blue October
Blue October is a rock band from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and currently consists of Justin Furstenfeld , Jeremy Furstenfeld , Ryan Delahoussaye , Matt Noveskey , and Julian Mandrake .-History:Blue October was formed by lead...
, Joshua Radin
Joshua Radin
Joshua Radin is an American recording artist, songwriter and actor. He was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and is of Swedish, German, Polish, Russian, and Austrian descent. He studied drawing and painting at Northwestern University, following his college years with stints as an art...
, Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
and I Fight Dragons
I Fight Dragons
I Fight Dragons is a rock band from Chicago. Their music combines pop/rock songs with original electronic sounds made using Nintendo Game Boys and Nintendo Entertainment Systems. They have released 2 EPs, 2009's Cool Is Just a Number and 2010's Welcome to the Breakdown, and they released their...
.
Use of technology
Heap is an outspoken advocate of using new technology to interact and collaborate with her fans. In August, 2009 she used VokleVokle
Vokle is an embeddable Internet microsite application that allows speakers to broadcast live video to a virtual auditorium of viewers and take live video calls and text questions from the audience.-History:...
, an online auditorium, to take questions from listeners over video chat.
Imogen also teamed up with Vokle
Vokle
Vokle is an embeddable Internet microsite application that allows speakers to broadcast live video to a virtual auditorium of viewers and take live video calls and text questions from the audience.-History:...
to hold open cello auditions for her North American tour. She provided sheet music for “Aha” on her website and encouraged local fans to learn the part and audition live via Vokle
Vokle
Vokle is an embeddable Internet microsite application that allows speakers to broadcast live video to a virtual auditorium of viewers and take live video calls and text questions from the audience.-History:...
. Imogen would then pick the cellist to accompany her for that particular city - sometimes with the help of viewers and her puppet Lion, Harold.
In 2010 Imogen opened her online auditions to singers and choirs and invited them to audition via submitted YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos to accompany her on stage as she performed the song "Earth" from Ellipse. The winner of each local show was also invited to do a 15 minute gig of their own. In the studio, the official album recording of "Earth" was made up entirely of numerous tracks of vocals.
July 2011 saw Imogen unveil a pair of in development, high-tech musical gloves at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. Inspired by the VAMP system developed by Elly Jessop at MIT’s media lab, Imogen set out to develop the musical gloves in collaboration with Thomas Mitchell, a lecturer in music systems at the University of the West of England, Bristol. The gloves combine sensors developed by 5DT, x-io Technologies with Shure microphones.
Using nothing but hand gestures, Imogen is currently able to amplify/record/loop acoustic instruments and her voice, play virtual instruments and manipulate these sounds live. Imogen has for many years been working toward a less constricting live set up which enables her to be mobile while performing live multiple musical production tasks, songs and improvising spontaneously without the need 'to go back to basecamp'. The gloves enable the audience to instinctively understand and connect with the process of what's going on on stage - the 'hidden' 50% of her performance. This is part of a larger audio/visual performance project Imogen has been working towards for a couple of years with the aim of touring in 2013.
Charity
In 2008 she participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace, which is an initiative to support TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
Tenzin Gyatso and to underline the human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
situation in Tibet. The album was issued on 5 August via iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and on 19 August in music stores around the world. On 12 October 2008, Heap also Participated in "Run 10k: Cancer Research UK," placing fifth of the women in the actual run and raising over £1000 for the cause with the help of her fans.
In 2008 Imogen was asked to perform at POP!Tech in Camden, Maine (US). There she performed selections from her then forthcoming album Ellipse. After her set and an encouraging plea for another performance later in the conference by the audience and organizers, Imogen agreed. Having nothing else prepared though, she decided to improvise a song on the spot with parameters (tempo, key) suggested by the audience. After the show, Imogen was asked by a Poptech attendee if she would give the newly created piece of music to his charity. A ‘lightbulb’ moment occurred in Heap’s head and she saw the potential in doing these improvised pieces for local charities at each show during the tour she would soon begin.
The first of these songs materialized at Imogen’s show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, in London on the 19th of February 2010. Using the same parameters and audience participation from POP!Tech, Imogen improvised a song titled, "The Shepherdess". After the show, Imogen made the song available worldwide as a digital download on her website asking for donations per download. All proceeds went to the Great Ormond Street Hospital where Imogen was diagnosed with osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis simply means an infection of the bone or bone marrow...
and underwent life-saving surgery as a little girl. Loving the concept, Imogen rolled this out for her North American Tour, donating all the proceeds for each song to a local charity from that city.
In 2011 Imogen was set to play a benefit concert in New Zealand's Christchurch city to help rebuild the Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti
Unlimited paenga tawhiti
Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti is a state secondary school located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand.It was established in 2003 by the Christchurch-based Learning Discovery Trust which had earlier set up the primary Discovery 1 School, and is one of just eleven schools running under the...
High School, following a severe 6.3 aftershock in February originating from the 7.1 earthquake that struck the Canterbury region in September 2010. The concert was held at the Burnside High Aurora Centre, also featuring performances from Roseanna Gamlen-Greene, and The Harbour Union including The Eastern, Lindon Puffin, Delaney Davidson and The Unfaithful Ways.
Live 4 X
In 2010, Imogen Heap partnered with Thomas Ermacora of Bubbletank to organize a series of online charitable events called Live 4 XLive 4 X
Live 4 X is an online charitable event series launched in 2010 by Grammy winning recording artist Imogen Heap and social media philanthropist and urban entrepreneur Thomas Ermacora...
.
The initial event was inspired by the 2010 Pakistan floods
2010 Pakistan floods
The 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater, approximately...
. Triggered by monsoon rains, the floods left approximately one-fifth of the country of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
underwater, affecting over 14 million people and damaging or destroying over 900,000 homes. Teaming up with Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
’s Virgin Unite and Vokle.com, Heap and Ermacorda create an online webcast/fundraiser to raise awareness and money for the flood stricken. Hosted by comedian, creative, and internet personality Ze Frank
Ze Frank
On March 17, 2006, Frank launched the daily video program the show with zefrank. The format of the program combined commentary on media and current events with viewer contributions and activities...
, the webcast included a series of conversations with Cameron Sinclair
Cameron Sinclair
Cameron Sinclair is the co-founder and 'chief eternal optimist' for Architecture for Humanity, a charitable organization which seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crisis and brings professional design services to communities in need.- Education and personal life :Educated at Kingswood...
of Architecture for Humanity
Architecture for Humanity
Architecture for Humanity is a charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and brings professional design services to communities in need...
, Gary Slutkin, and Anders Wilhelmson, (and later Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
and Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
) with live performances by musicians Ben Folds
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
, Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
, Kate Havnevik
Kate Havnevik
Kate Havnevik is a singer and songwriter from Oslo, Norway. Her debut album, the critically acclaimed electronica infused Melankton, was released in March 2006 on iTunes and April 2006 in Norway only, before being licensed internationally later...
, KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
, Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
, Kaki King
Kaki King
Kaki King is an American guitarist and composer. King is known for her percussive and jazz-tinged melodies, energetic live shows, use of multiple tunings on acoustic and lap steel guitar, and her diverse range in different genres.In February 2006, Rolling Stone released a list of "The New Guitar...
, Zoe Keating
Zoë Keating
Zoë Keating is a Canadian-born cellist and composer based in San Francisco, California.In her solo performances and recordings , she uses live electronic sampling and repetition in order to layer the sound of her cello, creating rhythmically dense musical structures...
and Mark Isham
Mark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
.
The premise of Live 4 X
Live 4 X
Live 4 X is an online charitable event series launched in 2010 by Grammy winning recording artist Imogen Heap and social media philanthropist and urban entrepreneur Thomas Ermacora...
thus established, Heap has since continued to refine the model, organize, host, and perform a number of charitable, streaming-live, concert events. By integrating live entertainment with educated discussion and technology, Live 4 X
Live 4 X
Live 4 X is an online charitable event series launched in 2010 by Grammy winning recording artist Imogen Heap and social media philanthropist and urban entrepreneur Thomas Ermacora...
became an effective charitable outreach tool.
Following the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of 2011, Heap told Washington Times Communities journalist and recording artist Jennifer Grassman
Jennifer Grassman
Jennifer Grassman is an American independent music and recording artist.-Early years & education:...
, that she intended to continue organizing Live 4 X
Live 4 X
Live 4 X is an online charitable event series launched in 2010 by Grammy winning recording artist Imogen Heap and social media philanthropist and urban entrepreneur Thomas Ermacora...
events to benefit various charitable causes.
Catalog of Live 4 X events to date:
- August 31, 2010 –
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
, Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
, Kate Havnevik
Kate Havnevik
Kate Havnevik is a singer and songwriter from Oslo, Norway. Her debut album, the critically acclaimed electronica infused Melankton, was released in March 2006 on iTunes and April 2006 in Norway only, before being licensed internationally later...
, KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
, Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
, and Zoe Keating
Zoë Keating
Zoë Keating is a Canadian-born cellist and composer based in San Francisco, California.In her solo performances and recordings , she uses live electronic sampling and repetition in order to layer the sound of her cello, creating rhythmically dense musical structures...
. In an ironic turn of events, Heap, was kept from appearing on Live 4 Pakistan due to Hurricane Earl
Hurricane Earl (2010)
Hurricane Earl was a long-lived, powerful tropical cyclone which became the first major hurricane to threaten New England since Hurricane Bob in 1991. The fifth named storm of the 2010 season, Earl developed out of a tropical wave roughly west of the Cape Verde Islands on August 25...
which at the time was progressing along the US eastern seaboard
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. Heap, stranded and unable to get an internet connection, later posted a video message as well as a performance of her song “Wait It Out” from Ellipse.
Architecture for Humanity
Architecture for Humanity is a charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and brings professional design services to communities in need...
. Performers included Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
, Ben Folds
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
, KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
and Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
and hosted by Ze Frank
Ze Frank
On March 17, 2006, Frank launched the daily video program the show with zefrank. The format of the program combined commentary on media and current events with viewer contributions and activities...
.
Film
After touring for nearly two years straight for her album Speak For YourselfSpeak For Yourself
-Charts:...
Imogen continued her travels, this time with only a laptop and video camera on hand as she began her writing trip for her next album. Nine weeks later she returned to the UK with the beginnings of the award-winning Ellipse and footage (as requested by a fan to film the making of the album) from its quiet beginning. Back in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, Imogen sought the talents of long-time friend and film maker Justine Pearsall to continue documenting the creation of the album. The film documents every moment of joy, excitement, frustration, and even the renovation of the Imogen’s childhood home including turning her old playroom into her new home studio. Everything In-Between: The Story of Ellipse is scheduled to be released in November 2010.
On November 5, 2010 at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, Heap conducted an orchestra (including friends and family) as they performed an original composition by Imogen herself orchestrated by Andrew Skeet. It was the score to the concept film Love The Earth - in creative partnership and co-production with Thomas Ermacora again for another Bubbletank production - in which fans were invited to submit video footage highlighting all of the breathtaking qualities of nature to be selected and edited into a film. This performance was broadcasted live worldwide.
In March for the Birds' Eye Festival at the BFi Imogen composed in collaboration with Andrew Skeet an a cappella choral score to the first ever surrealist film ‘The Seashell and the Clergyman’ (Germaine Dulac, 1927) with the Holst Singers.
Heap also performed in the Film and Music Arena at Latitude Festival in 2011.
Discography
- 1998: iMegaphone
- 2005: Speak For YourselfSpeak For Yourself-Charts:...
- 2009: EllipseEllipse (album)Ellipse is the third studio album from Grammy Award-winning British singer–songwriter Imogen Heap. After returning from a round the world writing trip, Heap completed the album at her childhood home in Essex, converting her old playroom in the basement into a studio...
- 2013: Heapsongs
Frou Frou
- DetailsDetails (album)-Personnel:*Imogen Heap: Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Piano, Drums, Percussion, Samples, Software*Guy Sigsworth: Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Piano, Drums, Percussion, Sampling, Software*Mich Gerber: Bowed Upright Bass...
(2002 • Island Records/MCA/UniversalUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
) (UK: #128) - "Breathe In" (single) (2002 • Island Records/UniversalUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
) (UK: #44) - "Its Good To Be In Love" (single) (2002 • Island Records/UniversalUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
) - "Must Be Dreaming" (single) (2002 • Island Records/UniversalUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
) - "Let Go" (Promotional single)
Guest appearances
- Hate EP by AcaciaAcacia (band)Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate...
(1996 • Radar Records) - Sway EP by AcaciaAcacia (band)Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate...
(1996 • Radar Records) - Maddening Shroud EP by AcaciaAcacia (band)Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate...
(1997 • WEA) - Cradle by AcaciaAcacia (band)Acacia was a multi-cultural British experimental pop band active during the mid-1990s. The band is most notable for helping to launch the subsequent musical careers of several of its members, most notably keyboard player/producer Guy Sigsworth, singer Alexander "Blackmoth" Nilere and associate...
– all tracks except "Wire" (1997 • WEA) - Blanket by Urban Species – "Blanket" and "Predictably Unpredictable" (1998)
- Amor Fati by Mich Gerber – "Embers of Love", "Sirens Call (Qishm)" and "Mare" (2000)
- ¡Viva Nueva! by Rustic OvertonesRustic OvertonesRustic Overtones is a rock/jazz/funk band from Maine active from 1993–2002 and 2007–present. They were the first group to perform live on XM Satellite Radio, and their 2007 album Light At The End was the fastest-selling local disc ever in the state of Maine....
– "Valentine's Day Massacre" (2001 • Tommy Boy Records) - You Had It ComingYou Had It Coming-Personnel:*Jeff Beck – electric guitar*Jennifer Batten – electric guitar*Imogen Heap – vocals on " Rollin' And Tumblin' " & "Dirty Mind"*Aiden Love – programming*Randy Hope-Taylor – bass guitar*Matt Tait – engineering*Kevin Metcalfe – mastering...
by Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
– "Dirty Mind" and "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (2001 • Sony Music) - Tell 'Em Who We Are by LHBLHBLHB may refer to:*LHB co., a Duluth based Architecture firm with offices in both Duluth and Minneapolis, MN.*The University of Texas Longhorn Band, a marching band*Left halfback, a football position*Alstom LHB, a German transport company...
– "Coming Up For Air" (2003 • Telstar TV) - Contact Note by Jon HopkinsJon HopkinsJon Hopkins is a London-based producer and musician who writes and performs his own melodic electronica and dance music. After starting his career performing keyboard for Imogen Heap, he's produced or contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Coldplay, David Holmes, and others...
– "Second Sense" (2004 • Just Music) - It's Better To Have Loved EP by TemposharkTemposharkTemposhark is an English electronic rock band, formed in London and Brighton by singer-songwriter Robert Diament. Temposhark are best known for their songs Bye Bye Baby, Joy, It's Better To Have Loved and Not That Big; a duet with singer Imogen Heap which appears on their 2008 debut album The...
– "Not That Big (Metronomy Remix)" (2005 • Paper & Glue) - FoiledFoiledFoiled is the fourth album by Blue October. The album was certified gold in the United States on August 9, 2006, and on February 22, 2007, was certified platinum. The album is also popular in Canada where it has also achieved platinum status....
by Blue OctoberBlue OctoberBlue October is a rock band from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and currently consists of Justin Furstenfeld , Jeremy Furstenfeld , Ryan Delahoussaye , Matt Noveskey , and Julian Mandrake .-History:Blue October was formed by lead...
– "Congratulations" (2006 • Universal Records) - Musikain by J. Peter Schwalm – "P.I.N." (2006 • Musikain Records)
- The Invisible LineThe Invisible LineThe Invisible Line is the debut album by UK band, Temposhark.Temposhark's debut album was produced and recorded in London by rising producer Sean McGhee with two tracks produced by Frou Frou member Guy Sigsworth, who contributes It's Better To Have Loved and Winter's Coming. The recording process...
by Temposhark – "Not That Big" (2007 • Paper & Glue) - London UndersoundLondon UndersoundNitin Sawhney's eighth studio album London Undersound released on , by Cooking Vinyl.It includes collaborations with Paul McCartney, Natty, Imogen Heap, Reena Bhardwaj, Ojos de Brujo, Anoushka Shankar, Tina Grace, Faheem Mazhar, Aruba Red, and Roxanne Tataei.-Reception:Reviewed by the BBC's Chris...
by Nitin SawhneyNitin SawhneyNitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
– "Bring It Home" (2008 • Cooking Vinyl) - Kingdom of Welcome Addiction by IAMX – "My Secret FriendMy Secret Friend-Song versions:*Album version - 4:06*Radio edit - 3:45*Omega Man remix - 4:45, remixed and additionally produced by Joe Wilson.*The Unfall Broken Waltz rework - 4:41, remixed by Corner under the alias Unfall, this version doesn't include Heap's vocals.*"Mein geheimer Freund" - 4:00, solo acoustic...
" (2009 • Metropolis Records) - The Boy Who Knew Too MuchThe Boy Who Knew Too Much (album)The Boy Who Knew Too Much is the second studio album by singer Mika. It was released on 21 September 2009, under Casablanca Records in the United States and Polydor and Island Records in the United Kingdom.-Background:...
by MikaMika (singer)Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
– "By The Time" (2009 • Casablanca Records) - Live at Ronnie Scott'sLive at Ronnie Scott's (Jeff Beck album)Jeff Beck released this live album on November 10, 2008. Other performers were Jason Rebello on keyboards, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and Tal Wilkenfeld on bass...
- Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
- (2008 • Eagle Records) - (2009 • DVD)
Compilation appearances
- New Dawn (Class of '94) – "Missing You" – (1994)
- I Still Know What You Did Last SummerI Still Know What You Did Last SummerI Still Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1998 slasher film and sequel to the 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer. The screenplay was written by Trey Callaway, based on characters originally created in a popular novel by Lois Duncan. Callaway's script was published in an edited "young adult"...
soundtrack – "Getting Scared" – (1998 • Warner Music Group) - Virtual SexualityVirtual SexualityVirtual Sexuality is a 1999 film about a young woman who designs the perfect man at a virtual reality convention, but then an accident occurs causing the man to be brought to life.-Synopsis:...
soundtrack – "Come Here Boy" – (1998 • EMI) - G:MT – Greenwich Mean Time soundtrack – "Mean Time" (with GMT) – (1999 • Island Records/Universal)
- Serve Chilled – "Blanket" (with Urban Species) – (1999 • Hed KandiHed KandiHed Kandi is an UK-based record label and a music brand which was established in 1999 by Mark Doyle, specialising in funky, soulful house music. Hed Kandi's catalogue includes both artist albums and various genres of club compilations. As well as producing music albums and compilations, Hed Kandi...
) - Women Talking Dirty soundtrack – "Getting Scared" – (2001 • Polygram International)
- American Psycho 2: All American Girl soundtrack – "Angry Angel" – (2002 • Rondor Music (London) Ltd)
- Garden StateGarden State (film)Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...
– "Let Go" – (2004 • Epic Records/Sony BMG) - Nearing GraceNearing GraceNearing Grace is a 2005 film directed by Rick Rosenthal, based on the novel by Scott Sommer.-Storyline:A coming-of-age independent feature film set in late 1970s, Nearing Grace follows high school senior Henry Nearing...
Soundtrack – "The Walk" – (2005 • Sony BMG) - Music from the OC: Mix 4 – "Goodnight and Go" – (2005 • Warner Music Group)
- Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything EndsSix Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything EndsSix Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends is a soundtrack album to the HBO drama series Six Feet Under, released in 2005 on Astralwerks...
– "I'm A Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch)" – (2005 • Astralwerks/EMI) - Just Like Heaven Soundtrack – "Spooky" – (2005 • Sony BMG)
- Music from the OC: Mix 5 – "Hide and Seek" – (2005 • Warner Music Group)
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (soundtrack)The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the soundtrack of the film of the same name. Harry Gregson-Williams composed the soundtrack, which was released on December 13, 2005 .-Background:...
– "Can't Take It In" – (2005 • Disney Records/EMI) - The Last KissThe Last KissThe Last Kiss is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film which is based on the 2001 Italian film L'ultimo bacio, directed by Gabriele Muccino. The plot revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment.The film stars Zach Braff,...
soundtrack – "Hide and Seek" – (2005 • Lakeshore Pictures) - Plague SongsPlague SongsPlague Songs is an album of songs, by various artists, about the ten Plagues of Egypt described in the Book of Exodus.The songs were originally commissioned by the British arts organisation Artangel for its project The Margate Exodus, which centres around a one-day event that took place in Margate...
– "Glittering Clouds (Locusts)" – (2006 • 4AD) - So You Think You Can Dance (US) – "Hide and Seek" – (2006)
- So You Think You Can Dance (US) – "Let Go" – (2006)
- The Black DonnellysThe Black DonnellysThe Black Donnellys is an American television drama that debuted on NBC on February 26, 2007 and last aired on April 2, 2007. Thereafter, NBC began releasing new episodes weekly on until the series was officially canceled. The Black Donnellys was created by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco...
– "The Moment I Said It" – (2007) - In Search of Sunrise 6 – "Hide and Seek" (Tiëstos' In Search Of Sunrise Remix) – (2007)
- The Holiday – "Just For Now" and "Let Go" (Under 'Frou Frou') – (2006)
- So You Think You Can Dance – "The Moment I Said It" – (2007)
- HeroesHeroes (TV series)Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
Original Soundtrack – "Not Now, But Soon" – (2008 • NBC Records) - Criminal MindsCriminal MindsCriminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
– "The Moment I Said It" – (2008) - Songs For Tibet – The Art of Peace – "Hide & Seek 2" – (2008)
- Greys Anatomy – "Bad Body Double" – (2009)
- So You Think You Can Dance (US) - "Aha!" - (2009)
- The Vampire DiariesThe Vampire DiariesThe Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...
- "Wait it Out" - (2009) - Melrose PlaceMelrose Place (2009 TV series)Melrose Place is an American television series broadcast on The CW Television Network from September 8, 2009 to April 13, 2010. The fifth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise, it is an updated version of the 1990s Fox prime time drama of the same name, featuring a group of young adults...
- "Aha!" - (2009) - Powder BluePowder Blue (film)Powder Blue is a 2009 drama film with an ensemble cast featuring several interconnected story arcs. It was written and directed by Timothy Linh Bui based on the 1997 novel Ponto de Partida by brazilian medium Chico Xavier, and features Patrick Swayze's last film appearance before his September 2009...
- "Blanket" - (2009) - ChuckChuck (TV series)Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
– "Wait it Out" – (2010) - CSI: NYCSI: NYCSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
- "Wait it Out" - (2010)
External links
- Official website
- Imogen Heap, french website.
- Imogen Heap's New Music Business Model
- Bob Lefsetz on Imogen Heap
- Auralgasms Interview From January 2006
- Imogen Heap video interview on TiFFcast, November 2006
- Portrait of Imogen Heap on 365portraits.com
- Imogen Heap plays the Array mbira on numerous recordings and in concert
- Review of First Train Home at Daily Music Guide
- Interview with Jessica Lewis at "Exclaim!Exclaim!Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
" - Interview with Imogen Heap for www.4ortherecord.com
- Photo Report @ Milano (2010)