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
The Making of Not Now But Soon
Imogen Heap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The most beautiful light
Will wake us to pillow fighting excitement
Not now but soon,
Bright into
Every corner,
Satellites maneuver in beams of change
Standing by the best days of our lives,
Magnificent, the best days of our lives,
Big bang boom, the best days of our lives
They're coming right up
If we can just get through this one
Who said it was over?
It's as good as it gets
Well we've got a few tricks up our sleeves yet
If we swallow "it's all over" and open wide on these make-to-believe
Sullen, chewed up, sodden soliloquies,
Oh, we're sweet nothings anymore
Terrifying best, days of our lives
We're hanging on the best days of our lives
No two ways about it, best days of our lives
They're coming right up, if we can just get through this one.
I'll hang on grab onto your feet
Someone else holds tied to my shoelaces
When their trouser leg tears, runs and stops at the seam to keep us
Dangled together
Until help finds us here
I'll hang on grab onto your feet
Someone else holds tied to my shoelaces
When their trouser leg tears, runs and stops at the seam to keep us
Dangled together
Until help finds us here
Best days of our lives
Better be the best days of our lives
Bring on the best days of our lives
Coming right up, whoa
Coming right up
If we can just get through this one.
The lyrics of Imogen Heap's song "Not Now But Soon" are full of emotional and hopeful imagery. The song begins with the idea that something wonderful and exciting is coming, but not just yet. The anticipation builds as the lyrics describe a beautiful and bright light that is set to awaken us. The song is full of excitement and possibility, as we are encouraged to revel in the coming days and look forward to the best days of our lives.
The song describes a sense of determined resilience, even in the face of obstacles and challenges. The lyrics suggest that we can find the strength to get through anything if we just hold on and keep moving forward. Even when things seem dark and uncertain, there is always hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
Not now but soon,
The most beautiful light
Will wake us to pillow fighting excitement
Good things are coming soon, and we'll be filled with such joy and energy that we'll be pillow-fighting in excitement!
Not now but soon,
Bright into
Every corner,
Satellites maneuver in beams of change
Change is coming, and it will be bright and powerful, reaching every corner of our world like satellites in space.
Standing by the best days of our lives,
Magnificent, the best days of our lives,
Big bang boom, the best days of our lives
They're coming right up
If we can just get through this one
Our best days are ahead, and they'll be wonderful and explosive. We just need to get through our current struggles.
Who said it was over?
It's as good as it gets
Well we've got a few tricks up our sleeves yet
Just because things seem bad doesn't mean it's over. We're still doing pretty well and have some tricks up our sleeves to keep going.
If we swallow "it's all over" and open wide on these make-to-believe
Sullen, chewed up, sodden soliloquies,
Oh, we're sweet nothings anymore
If we give up and believe it's all over, we'll be left with empty words and sadness -- we need to keep fighting to keep our sweetness.
Terrifying best, days of our lives
We're hanging on the best days of our lives
No two ways about it, best days of our lives
They're coming right up, if we can just get through this one.
Our best days will be both exhilarating and scary, and we're holding on tight to get to that point -- we just need to make it through this tough moment.
I'll hang on grab onto your feet
Someone else holds tied to my shoelaces
When their trouser leg tears, runs and stops at the seam to keep us
Dangled together
Until help finds us here
We're holding on tight to each other to make it through tough times, and even if something goes wrong we'll still be tied together until help arrives.
Best days of our lives
Better be the best days of our lives
Bring on the best days of our lives
Coming right up, whoa
Coming right up
If we can just get through this one.
Our best days need to be truly amazing, and we're ready for them to arrive -- we just need to get through this one moment in time.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IMOGEN JENNIFER JANE HEAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tanya Daughter & Jewel Of YHVH
Standing by the best days of our lives,
Magnificent, the best days of our lives,
Big bang boom, the best days of our lives
They're coming right up
If we can just get through this one
Who said it was over?
It's as good as it gets
Well we've got a few tricks up our sleeves yet
LetaLee90
her music really is beautiful and can mean so many things. I think that's why her fans fall for her music because it means something different for each of them. Her music reaches people spiritually, emotionally and just allows us to see into ourselves. Her music is also an unique art form. I admire her for that.
icymayden
What an awesome song..I love her voice..So soothing and once again awesome.. And relationships when young are temporary..There is no need to hurt so much over them..Someone else always comes along and makes life bright again :)
musiczQT5
This song gets all the stars times infinity. I LOVE Imogen Heap!
Natalie Williams
I think this is one of Imogen's best songs :)
Helen Frank
it is really hard not to sing really loud along with this song <3. i have known this music for years now and i don't think i will ever get tired of it
GamblingTime Karaoke
This song makes me feel so happy and lovely! Yay for Immi for putting it together while she was also doing Ellipse! :D
DJ Apathy
I do not normally like vocals-based tracks but this woman's songs always make me feel at peace. Thank you, Imogen Heap.
Leon Spiandorelli
Although I have all of her albums, I always find Immi's songs randomly when looking around. It's always a surprise, and the songs are always good.
Witch Changkyun
One of my most favorite songs <3
Shekinah-Glory Anderson
"I'll hang on grab onto your feet, someone else holds tight to my shoelaces when their trouser leg tears, runs & stops at the seam to keep us dangling together til help finds us here... The BEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES are coming right up if we can just get through this one" IMOGEN HEAP IS AMAZING! She has the best concepts... This song makes very optimistic about what the future holds (: