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
Useless
Imogen Heap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am a razor, without my blade
I am the daylight, when the moon shines on
Who will want to make my sandcastle
That's already made?
I feel so useless, do you?
Look through your fear, still blind to my way
I reach to hold you, but I don't feel you there,
Do you even realize I'm here?
Am I just wasting away?
No wasting away
Living, inside your play
And I feel so useless, do you?
And I feel so useless, do you?
My dying prayer, sealed in a scream
Unwelcome, in and a conscious dream
I am your whore, without a name
I climb to fall, to begin again, to begin again, to begin again
I climb to fall, to begin again, to begin again, to begin again
I climb to fall, to begin again, to begin again, to begin again
To begin again, to begin again, to begin again
I am an arrow, with no direction
My life your tarot, my picture your fate
I'm your becoming, so I'll always be nothing
If I ever break away from you
That day forth, you'll be living my hate
Oh god help his fate
I'll watch you, watch you suffocate
And I feel so useless, do you?
And I feel so useless, do you?
And I feel so useless, do you?
And I feel so useless, useless, useless, useless.
The lyrics of Imogen Heap’s song ‘Useless’ are a raw and introspective commentary on the feeling of being lost and struggling to find one’s place in the world. The first verse sets the tone for the rest of the song, with the description of being a mirror without a reflection or a razor without a blade. These images evoke a feeling of emptiness, of just being there and not being able to fulfill one’s purpose. Lines like “Who will want to make my sandcastle, that's already made?" add to this sense of being redundant, of not having anything to offer.
The second verse is a plea to be seen and heard, to be recognized by someone, but the person being addressed seems to be deaf and blind to the singer’s efforts to connect. The repetition of “to begin again” in the chorus suggests a never-ending cycle of trying and failing, of climbing to fall and starting over. The metaphorical language used throughout the song is powerful and poetic, with phrases like “I am your whore, without a name” and “I am an arrow, with no direction” painting a vivid picture of the singer’s struggles.
In the last verse, there’s a hint of anger and bitterness, with the singer declaring that their life is controlled by someone else and they’re doomed to be nothing without that person. The final line of “I feel so useless, useless, useless, useless” drives home the frustration and hopelessness of the situation. Overall, ‘Useless’ is a thought-provoking and emotional song that captures the feeling of being lost and alone, and struggling to find one’s place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
I am a mirror, with no reflection
I feel like I don't know who I am or what my purpose is.
I am a razor, without my blade
I feel powerless and weak, unable to affect change or make a difference.
I am the daylight, when the moon shines on
I feel like I am overlooked and unappreciated, always in someone else's shadow.
Who will want to make my sandcastle that's already made?
I feel like everything has been done before, and there's no point in trying to create something new or different.
I feel so useless, do you?
I am asking if you also feel like everything you do is pointless or insignificant.
Speak into an ear, deaf to my voice
I feel like no one is listening or paying attention to what I have to say.
Look through your fear, still blind to my way
I feel like you are too afraid to see things from my perspective, and it's causing a disconnect between us.
I reach to hold you, but I don't feel you there
I feel like there's a emotional distance between us, even when I try to connect with you physically or emotionally.
Do you even realize I'm here?
I am asking if you are aware of my presence, and if you care about me or my feelings.
Am I just wasting away?
I feel like my life doesn't have any real meaning or value, and I am just existing without really living.
No wasting away
I am trying to resist the feeling of being insignificant, and wanting to make something of my life.
Living, inside your play
I feel like I am being controlled or manipulated by someone else's actions or decisions.
My dying prayer, sealed in a scream
I feel like I am trapped or suffocating, and I can't escape the pain or suffering I am experiencing.
Unwelcome, in and a conscious dream
I feel like I am stuck in a nightmare, unable to wake up or change my circumstances.
I am your whore, without a name
I feel like I am being used or exploited by someone else, and I have no sense of identity or worth.
I climb to fall, to begin again, to begin again, to begin again
I am trying to pick myself up and start over, even though I know I might fail again.
I am an arrow, with no direction
I feel like I am lost or confused, with no clear sense of where I should be going or what I should be doing.
My life your tarot, my picture your fate
I feel like my life is being controlled or dictated by someone else's decisions or actions, and I have no say in my own fate.
I'm your becoming, so I'll always be nothing
I feel like I am defined or limited by the expectations and desires of others, and I can never be my own person.
If I ever break away from you, that day forth, you'll be living my hate
I am warning you that if I ever find the strength to stand up for myself and break away from your control, I will hold a grudge and resent you for taking away my sense of self.
Oh god help his fate
I am praying for divine intervention or guidance, because I feel like I am completely helpless and lost.
I'll watch you, watch you suffocate
I am threatening to stand by and watch you suffer or die, because I feel like you have done the same thing to me.
And I feel so useless, useless, useless, useless.
I am emphasizing how strongly I feel about my own worthlessness and insignificance.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID BYRNE, IMOGEN HEAP, IMOGEN JENNIFER JANE HEAP, PHILIP GLASS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind