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
Getting Scared
Imogen Heap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are you so surprised to see me
Yeah I was your little
Childhood playground toy
And if I remember
Yeah if I do remember rightly
I said the tables would be
Turned around, boy
[Chorus]
Who's getting scared now
Tell me, tell me how does it feel
It feels so good
From where I'm standing
The only times of my life
The sun was meant to shine for me
You made it pour down,
Pour down with tears of rain
Dug my pride with a knife
Enraged by your obsession with me
Time was mental torture
And screams of justified pain
So ya gonna chase me now, boy
Yeah ya gonna corner me now, boy
You think ya gonna threaten me now, boy
Well somehow I don't think so
Yeah, ya gonna stamp me down now, boy
Yeah, ya gonna crush me down now, boy
You think ya gonna threaten me now, boy
Well somehow I don't think so
[Chorus]
Yeah you're getting scared now, piggy,
Go ahead and squeal
It sounds so nice
From where I'm standing
[Chorus]
You're getting scared now
Baby, go ahead and scream
It sounds so nice from where I'm standing
From where I'm standing
Who's getting scared?
Who's getting scared now?
Who's getting scared?
Who's getting scared now?
Who's getting scared?
Who's getting scared now?
The song "Getting Scared" by Imogen Heap is a powerful statement against an abuser who has caused pain and suffering to the singer. The lyrics suggest that the two were once in a relationship, with the singer being the toy of the abuser. However, now the tables are turned, and the singer has found strength in facing their past and confronting the abuser. The song is about taking back control and standing up against those who try to hurt you.
The chorus, "Who's getting scared now, tell me, tell me, how does it feel? It feels so good from where I'm standing," embodies the idea that the abuser is now the one feeling weak and powerless. The singer is no longer intimidated, and it feels liberating to gain control of the situation. The rest of the lyrics express the singer's journey towards this new level of strength, as they overcame the mental torture and abuse.
Overall, "Getting Scared" is a powerful anthem for survivors of abuse. It encourages people to face their past and take control of their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Turn your ugly face
I recognize and confront your unattractive qualities.
Are you so surprised to see me
Your past actions have made me wary of surprise encounters.
Yeah I was your little
Childhood playground toy
You used to effortlessly manipulate me and exert control over me like a toy.
And if I remember
Yeah if I do remember rightly
I said the tables would be
Turned around, boy
I recall promising that you would no longer have power over me, and that our roles would be reversed.
Who's getting scared now
Tell me, tell me how does it feel
It feels so good
From where I'm standing
Now that I have taken control, I revel in the feeling of watching you squirm and feel discomfort.
The only times of my life
The sun was meant to shine for me
You made it pour down,
Pour down with tears of rain
You have caused me great emotional pain and have darkened my life with your actions.
Dug my pride with a knife
Enraged by your obsession with me
Time was mental torture
And screams of justified pain
Your obsession with me has caused me mental anguish, and you have deliberately wounded my sense of pride and self-worth.
So ya gonna chase me now, boy
Yeah ya gonna corner me now, boy
You think ya gonna threaten me now, boy
Well somehow I don't think so
Although you may be attempting to intimidate me now, I am not afraid of you and do not think that you can actually harm me.
Yeah, ya gonna stamp me down now, boy
Yeah, ya gonna crush me down now, boy
You think ya gonna threaten me now, boy
Well somehow I don't think so
I refuse to be oppressed or crushed by you, and am unafraid of your attempts at threatening me.
Yeah you're getting scared now, piggy,
Go ahead and squeal
It sounds so nice
From where I'm standing
Watching you panic and feel afraid brings me joy and satisfaction.
You're getting scared now
Baby, go ahead and scream
It sounds so nice from where I'm standing
From where I'm standing
I relish in the sounds of your fear and suffering.
Who's getting scared?
Who's getting scared now?
Who's getting scared?
Who's getting scared now?
Who's getting scared?
Who's getting scared now?
Repeatedly questioning who is experiencing fear, and implying that it is not the artist.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GUY SIGSWORTH, IMOGEN JENNIFER HEAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@zarkflappysheep
She is so weird and awesome. Plus, you would never know how much of an impact she’s had on the internet from her beginnings. Not just Hide and Seek, but also I’m God, the “mysterious” internet song that “no one knows anything about” and basically all of Frou Frou
@jamesenglish720
'I'm God' is a clams casino track dude...
He samples 'just for now', by imogen.
@zarkflappysheep
@@jamesenglish720 you can find I’m god on her spotify dude
@jamesenglish720
@@zarkflappysheep doesn't make it not a clams casino remix of one of her original songs dude, it's 'just for now', off 'speak for yourself', in case you didn't know.
@jamesenglish720
@@zarkflappysheep my point being that it isn't a 'mysterious internet song', just you don't know the context behind it is all
@zarkflappysheep
@@jamesenglish720 me putting that in air quotes was signifying that it’s not a mysterious internet song. That’s the point. A lot of people think it is.
@nightchemistry
Ive never seen a bigger genre change than Imogen Heap, like she really went from a rockstar to an electronic musical odyssey
@NoahBigsby
God damn, Imogen Heap changed so much as a singer after the late 90’s. From being a rocker to being a electronica genius!
@reptilexi7172
she always was both, never was just a "rocker"
@babasemka
Rocker? Where did you heard rock? This is sampled music.