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 dΓ©but, 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 dΓ©but 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
Let Go
Imogen Heap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mmm are you in or out
Leave your things behind
'Cause it's all going off without you
Excuse me, too busy oh, writing a tragedy
These mishaps you bubble wrap when
You've no idea what you're like
(So let go) so let go
And jump in
Oh well whatcha waiting for
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
(So let go) yeah let go
And just get in
Oh it's so amazing here
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
It gains the more it give
And it rises with the fall
So hand me that remote
Can't you see that all that stuff's a sideshow
Such boundless pleasure
We've no time for later now
You can't await your own arrival
You've twenty seconds to comply
(So let go) so let go
And jump in
Oh well whatcha waiting for
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
(So let go) yeah let go
And just get in
Oh it's so amazing here
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
(So let go)
And jump in
Oh well whatcha waiting for
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
(So let go) yeah let go
And just get in
Oh it's so amazing here
It's all right
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
Mmm the breakdown
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
Hey, the breakdown
So amazing, yeah
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
The lyrics to Imogen Heap & Frou Frou's "Let Go" are about letting go of one's fears and insecurities and fully immersing oneself in the present moment. The singer is encouraging someone to leave behind their worries and take a chance, whether that be jumping into a new relationship or trying something they've never done before. The first verse sets up the scene, with the singer asking the listener if they are "in or out" and telling them to leave their things behind. The second verse is about the distractions that keep people from fully experiencing life - the "tragedy" that the singer is "too busy oh, writing" is likely a metaphor for our tendency to focus on the negative aspects of our lives and cling to them like "bubble wrap." The chorus repeats the refrain of "so let go" and encourages the listener to "jump in," reminding them that there is "beauty in the breakdown."
The bridge of the song shifts the focus away from the listener and towards the idea of pleasure and living in the present moment. The singer urges the listener to not wait for things to happen to them but to actively engage with the world around them, because "we've no time for later now." The bridge leads back into the chorus, which repeats the themes of taking a chance and finding beauty in the unexpected.
Overall, "Let Go" is a song about seizing the moment and letting go of one's fears and insecurities. It encourages listeners to take chances and find beauty in the unexpected, reminding them that the present moment is all we have.
Line by Line Meaning
Drink up baby doll
Start drinking, my dear
Mmm are you in or out
Are you joining me or not?
Leave your things behind
Ignore your possessions
'Cause it's all going off without you
Things will happen regardless of your participation
Excuse me, too busy oh, writing a tragedy
Sorry, I'm occupied with creating a sad story
These mishaps you bubble wrap when
You try to prevent unfortunate events but
You've no idea what you're like
You don't realize your own nature
(So let go) so let go
Just relax and release your grip
And jump in
Take the plunge
Oh well whatcha waiting for
Why hesitate?
It's all right
It's okay
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
Some good can come from difficult times
(So let go) yeah let go
Yes, loosen up
And just get in
Join me
Oh it's so amazing here
This is incredible
(So let go)
(Relax)
It gains the more it give
You receive more when you give
And it rises with the fall
Success can follow failure
So hand me that remote
Give me the remote control
Can't you see that all that stuff's a sideshow
Don't be distracted by petty things
Such boundless pleasure
There's infinite joy
We've no time for later now
Let's not postpone our fun
You can't await your own arrival
Don't delay your own experience
You've twenty seconds to comply
Act quickly
(So let go)
(Relax)
Mmm the breakdown
The moment of crisis
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
Suffering can have positive outcomes
Hey, the breakdown
Hey, the moment of crisis
So amazing, yeah
So wonderful
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
There can be good in difficult times
Lyrics Β© WARP MUSIC LIMITED, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GUY SIGSWORTH, IMOGEN JENNIFER HEAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind