Heap grew up playing music from an early age, and by her eleventh birthday she was writing her own songs. From the age of 15, she studied at the BRIT School Of Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon, South London, recording three tracks for the school's annual CD between 1994 and 1995, "Aliens" being the title track of the latter.
After being introduced to Nik Kershaw by his manager Mickey Modern, Heap and Kershaw recorded four demos that Mickey Modern took to Rondor Music. Consequently, a few months later Heap signed her first record contract at 18 to independent record label Almo Sounds. 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 in 1997. One Acacia song, "Maddening Shroud", would later be covered by Frou Frou.
Heap enjoyed a prestigious live début, performing four songs (backed by friends Acacia) between sets by The Who and Eric Clapton at the 1996 Prince's Trust Concert in Hyde Park, London. Her début album, I Megaphone (an anagram of "Imogen Heap") was internationally released in 1998 on independent record label Almo Sounds and garnered critical acclaim. However, as production of the album neared completion, it was announced that the record label had been sold and would be shut down. I-Megaphone featured collaborations with Guy Sigsworth and Dave Stewart. In Japan, the regional distributor, Zora, re-released the album in 2002, featuring "Blanket," her collaboration with Urban Species which was released as a single in the United Kingdom, and a Frou Frou remix of one of her B-sides, a video to which was released exclusively to Japanese media. Following the disbanding of her UK and USA record label, I Megaphone was scarce in circulation, having not been re-printed until November 2006. An independent Brazillian record label has rights to the record, and has issued limited copies, some of which are available on eBay. It has also been released through the iTunes Music Store under the Almo label.
At the same time as the Japanese re-release, Heap was working on new tracks with producer Guy Sigsworth, who had collaborated on "Getting Scared" from I-Megaphone. Together, they formed an electro-pop group Frou Frou, releasing an album called "Details" and singles, "Breathe In", "It's Good To Be In Love" and "Must Be Dreaming." The album was a full collaboration between the two artists. Frou Frou were approached to cover "Holding Out for a Hero", originally performed by Bonnie Tyler, for the soundtrack to the highly successful movie Shrek 2. An album track, "Let Go", was featured in the movie Garden State in 2004.
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 an online blog to update fans on progress, even seeking them to be her A&R team for the lyrics to "Daylight Robbery". Heap set herself a deadline of one year to make the album (she booked the album mastering for December 2004), and re-mortgaged her flat to fund production costs, including the use of studio time and instruments (which she purchased as a birthday present to herself). Having been burned by previous challenges with record labels (Heap had been spurned twice by record companies, when Almo Sounds was sold and when Frou Frou's label staff focused on promoting other acts), Heap decided to form her own record label on which to release the new record. At the end of 2004, Heap premiered two album tracks online, enabling fans to pay for a digital download, entitled "Just For Now" (which was up for a limited time as a Christmas gift), and "Goodnight And Go", which had been featured on the second season of hit US TV drama The O.C.
In April 2005, The O.C. season two finale featured another track, the sparse vocodered-vocal track, "Hide And Seek". The track was released immediately to digital download services such as iTunes where it became an instant fixture in the chart. The track was released as a digital download on the 5th July 2005 in the UK and peaked at #8 on the iTunes download chart.
The album, entitled "Speak For Yourself" was then released in the UK on July 18th 2005 on her own record label, Megaphonic Records. The album was also released on iTunes UK, where it entered the top 10, selling strongly. "Hide And Seek" also received radio attention from the popular UK radio station BBC Radio One, with DJ Scott Mills featuring it as his "Record of the Week", and provoking strong reactions ("love it or hate it") from other DJs at the station. Due to popular demand, the track was commercially released on a special limited edition (1500 copies were printed) 7" vinyl in the UK in September. Speak For Yourself was licensed to Sony BMG imprint RCA Victor in August 2005, enabling the record to be released in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It was released in those territories in November, and Heap appeared on the Hotel Cafe Tour promoting the record. Imogen also performed "Goodnight And Go" on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 11, 2006. Heap is slated to continue touring in 2006 in the US and UK to support the record.
As well as TV soundtracks (Frou Frou and Heap's solo records have been featured in shows as varied as The O.C. to CSI, among others), Heap has also contributed solo tracks to movie soundtracks. Her cover of the song "Spooky" (made famous by the band Classics IV, and previously covered by Dusty Springfield) for the soundtrack to the Reese Witherspoon movie Just Like Heaven. Heap also wrote a special track entitled "Can't Take It In" for the soundtrack to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She has also appeared on the second soundtrack for the HBO television series "Six Feet Under", entitled "Six Feet Under Vol. 2: Everything Ends" with a 50-second track that closed the Season 4 episode "I'm A Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch)". Three versions were recorded and are available from Heap's official web site.
In addition to producing her own records, she has also produced a track for Nik Kershaw and has collaborated with artists as diverse as Joshua Radin, Jeff Beck, Temposhark, LHB, Way Out West, Jon Bon Jovi, Mich Gerber, Sean Lennon, Urban Species, Blue October, Jon Hopkins and Acacia.
Heap's 2009 album 'Ellipse' features Canvas, Aha! and Half Life.
Sites: Twitter
www.imogenheap.com
Closing In
Imogen Heap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To be with you
No I just can't sit still,
Are we there yet?
Takes me back,
I remember
Such a magical place
It was so, you
Closing in
I hope that you make it
Closing in
I hope that you find your way
Frame by frame,
With speed ahead
The city dissolving,
The thread of your love in the headlights
Is it safe now?
Will your arms be open?
I just have to kiss you,
Try and stop me
Closing in
I hope that you make it
Closing in
I hope that you find your way
Closing in
It's all that I want in the whole world
Closing in
Please be there, please be there
What are you like?
Where did you get to?
Know what I think?
You didn't hold me, for any longer
What do you want for the fear of love?
Or don't you believe enough?
Well I'll cover both of us
You can leave that to me!
Closing in
I hope that you'll make it
Closing in
I hope that you find your way
Closing in, closing in.
The song "Closing In" by Imogen Heap is about the anticipation and eagerness to be with someone who is far away. The lyrics express the singer's excitement to reunite with their loved one, and their hope that everything will go well when they finally meet. The song begins with the singer expressing their impatience and excitement about the impending meeting, reminiscing about a special memory of their loved one. The chorus repeats the phrase "closing in", which creates a sense of urgency and excitement, while also conveying the hope and anxiety about whether the reunion will go as planned or not.
The second verse of the song is more introspective and contemplative, with the singer questioning their relationship and their own fears around love. The image of the city dissolving and the thread of love in the headlights suggest a fleeting, fragile quality to their love, which adds to the sense of urgency in the chorus. The bridge of the song is more assertive, with the singer declaring their commitment to the relationship and reassuring their loved one that they will take care of them.
Overall, "Closing In" is a beautiful, romantic song that captures the anxiety and anticipation of a long-distance relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't wait
I am eagerly waiting for the moment when I will meet you
To be with you
I am eager to be in your presence and enjoy your company
No I just can't sit still,
I am so excited that I can't stay calm and I feel restless
Are we there yet?
I am eager to reach our destination, meet you and spend time with you
Takes me back,
Memories of us and our experiences bring me back to reality
I remember
I can recall vividly and accurately the beautiful experiences we shared together
Such a magical place
That place was an enchanting place that I can’t forget
It was so, you
That place was so magical because you were with me
Closing in
We are getting closer to our destination
I hope that you make it
I hope that you can make it to our meeting point without any obstacles
Closing in
We are nearing each other
I hope that you find your way
I hope that you are able to navigate and reach me without any complications
Frame by frame,
I am visualizing our meeting moment by moment in my mind
With speed ahead
We are moving quickly towards each other
The city dissolving,
As we get closer, the surroundings seem to blur and fade away
The thread of your love in the headlights
Your affection and care for me is what guides me in this journey
Is it safe now?
I am concerned about the safety of our meeting place and hope everything is secure
Will your arms be open?
I am eager to be embraced by you once we meet
I just have to kiss you,
I am so madly in love with you that I can't wait to kiss you
Try and stop me
Nothing can hold me back from expressing my love for you
It's all that I want in the whole world
Meeting you is my greatest desire at this moment
Please be there, please be there
I am pleading with you to be present at our meeting place
What are you like?
I wonder what kind of person you are and your traits
Where did you get to?
I am concerned about your whereabouts and hope you are safe
Know what I think?
I have thoughts on my mind that I would like to share with you
You didn't hold me, for any longer
I feel like our time together is never enough, and I wish we could spend more time together
What do you want for the fear of love?
I am curious to know what your expectations are in our relationship
Or don't you believe enough?
I am wondering if you have confidence in our relationship
Well I'll cover both of us
I am willing to take full responsibility for both of us in this relationship
Closing in, closing in.
Our meeting is drawing closer, and it thrills me to imagine it happening soon.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IMOGEN JENNIFER HEAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind