Frou Frou created an impressive brand of vocal-driven, electronic pop. After the British duo had been collaborating for years without a record deal, the group's debut, Details, was completed for American release on MCA Records in 2002.
Heap and Sigsworth first worked together on Getting Scared from Heap's 1998 solo record, I Megaphone. After completing the promotion for that splendid debut, Heap was ready to begin work on a new project and the two hooked up again as Sigsworth had privately been compiling music specifically for Heap while producing other projects. The first track, conceived by the new, more formal (but as yet unnamed) pairing, eventually turned into Flicks from Details, which is perhaps Frou Frou's most Björk-reminiscent number.
Sigsworth grew up listening to eclectic female artists like Kate Bush, and along with Heap, developed an appreciation for classical music. He has specifically worked with Björk (Homogenic, Vespertine) and Madonna (What It Feels Like For A Girl) among many other significant '90s pop and electronic artists. Far from being the kind of campy moniker one might expect from a more sugary pop outfit, the name Frou Frou was decided upon when Francophile Sigsworth noticed the phrase in a Baudelaire poem. Apparently, when uttered in French, the phrase is meant to approximate the swishing of skirts as they swirl about the legs of comely dancing women, as in a burlesque performance.
Born composers, multi-instrumentalist Heap and studio/sound/producer/musician Sigsworth are credited with many side appearances in support of other artists, especially Sigsworth, who was often used as a bit of a song-fixer. While those aren't bad jobs to have, artists of Frou Frou's caliber need to step out on their own, and while Heap worked as a solo artist for a majority of her career, Sigsworth had never been so strongly identified with any previous project. Instead of relegating the male producer/writer to a barely credited back seat, as often happens with a female-fronted team effort, Frou Frou was conceived and honestly portrayed as a true collaboration, making it significant for its marketing truthfulness if nothing else.
Details has some relatively conventional pop moments like "It's Good to Be in Love", but more experimental cuts like "Only Got One" display a more definitive quality. The true accomplishment of Frou Frou (which is in evidence on just about every track the "band" created) is their uncanny ability to infuse highly manipulated, digitally crafted music with a warmth quite rare in pop and almost unheard of in music so technologically progressive. In the studio, Frou Frou achieved unique sounding beats for Heap's luscious voice via more-than-would-be-expected acoustic and natural instruments. These actual instrumental performances were recorded first, then heavily manipulated in an editing stage, giving the duo their own process and thus, their own sound. This approach made their music lush, dynamic, and more earthy when compared to typical electronic/dance and canned pop.
In November 2017, it was announced that Heap and Sigsworth would be reuniting to tour as Frou Frou in conjunction with an Imogen Heap solo tour in 2018. The duo released a live recording of "Guitar Song" on April 19, 2019. "Guitar Song" is one of two singles not released at the time of the band's initial break-up.
Breath
Frou Frou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chord shapes in air go press that dissonance if you dare
And you breathing in finesse an innocent
From her partying
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
'Cause I love you no?
Can't help but love, you know.
What part of no don't you understand I've told you before
To just get off my case this isn't happening stop this now
And I where was I? I have to be somewhere
Now where did I put it?
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
'Cause I love you no?
Can't help but love you, no.
Is this it is this it is this it?
Yes hello we're back and we're taking calls
Now what was the question?
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
'Cause I love you no?
Can't help but love you, no.
The lyrics of Frou Frou's song Breath In are open to interpretation, but one possible interpretation is that the song is about being in love with someone who is not reciprocating the feelings. The singer seems to have an almost psychic connection with this person, being able to read them and predict their reactions. They acknowledge that their feelings are not welcome, and that they have been told to stop pursuing the other person, but they cannot help how they feel. The chorus of the song is a repetition of the phrase "And I'm high enough from all the waiting, to ride a wave on your inhaling, 'cause I love you no?" which suggests a desire for an intense and possibly dangerous connection with the object of their affection. The final section of the song, which features a disconnected phone call and a repeated chorus, could be interpreted as a representation of the obsessive and somewhat delusional nature of the singer's feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
I read you and God I'm good at it I'm so spot on
I understand you so well and can read you like a book
Chord shapes in air go press that dissonance if you dare
Experimental music creates discord, but go ahead and try it anyway
And you breathing in finesse an innocent
You're inhaling gracefully like an innocent person
From her partying
You're doing this to clear your lungs after a night of partying
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
I'm so excited and impatient that I feel high
To ride a wave on your inhaling
I feel connected to you and want to ride your breath
'Cause I love you no?
I can't help but love you, right?
Can't help but love, you know.
It's impossible for me to not love you
What part of no don't you understand I've told you before
Why don't you understand that I don't want this and I've told you before?
To just get off my case this isn't happening stop this now
Stop bothering me about this, it's not going to happen
And I where was I? I have to be somewhere
Wait, where was I? I have somewhere to be
Now where did I put it?
Where did I put that thing I need?
Is this it is this it is this it?
Is this what I'm looking for?
Yes hello we're back and we're taking calls
We're back from a break and ready to take phone calls
Now what was the question?
What was the question that the caller had?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Johnny Lee Jackson, Tupac Amaru Shakur, Katari T. Cox, Malcolm Greenidge, Mutah W. Beale, Rufus Lee Cooper
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TarotDomina
I read you
And god I'm good at it
I'm so spot on
Chord, shapes in air
Go press that dissonance, if you dare
And you, breathing in
Finesse an innocent
From her partying
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
'Cause I love you, no
Can't help but love, you know
What part of no don't you understand
I've told you before
To just get off my case
This isn't happening
Stop this now
And I, where was I?
I have to be somewhere
Now where did I put it?
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
'Cause I love you, no
Can't help but love, you know
Is this it, is it, is this it, yeah is it, no
Is this it, oh, is this it, no, is this it, no, is this it?
Yes, hello we're back, and we're taking calls
Now what was the question?
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
And I'm high enough from all the waiting
To ride a wave on your inhaling
'Cause I love you, no
Can't help but love, you know
'Cause I love you, no
Can't help but love, you know
'Cause I love you, no
Can't help but love, you know
@sjoelle3335
I am 40 now, but Frou Frou was the soundtrack of my youth. I remember driving in my Camry in San Francisco with my first love listening to this song. Such great memories.
@serineber387
would you mind telling us the story of you and your first love ? i find it so sad when the first isnt the last
@buh2001j
I'm 41 and this is also a soundtrack of my youth. thanks for sharing your memory here
@jonesy250f
This comment reminds me of how old I am compared to how old I feel. Haha
@paintedrow
I miss San Francisco 😢
@NoahBigsby
I now just realized a lot of this music video was filmed in San Francisco.
@edclevel402
Imogen Heap's voice is magical.
@realjoker1568
Only now I realise it's her... (I've never seen frou frou videos until today :-P)
@ArKaneAcrumProductions
i love her voice fr sm
@reo7524
true