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
Video: Neglected Space
Imogen Heap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I watch you come and go
I know you can hear my voice
Don't walk away
Come daydream with me
In closed loops and future-proof cardboard to caviar
Let's show them how good we are
If you look after me, I'll look after you
Sonar, night vision or desperate lovers
Seeking privacy for their forbidden
I am their defenseless host
Through my open wounds they let themselves in
Sheltered (sheltered), they mock me (they mock me)
If you stand up for me, I'll stand up for you
I'm weather-beaten in a losing battle punctured by nature, becoming organic
The air in here ages me, ungracefully!
But if you take care of me, I will take care of you
Oh, my crumbling heart!
If you'll be good to me,
I'll be good to you
I'm amidst
I could be the best decision you ever made, a beacon, your peaceful corner
Find me, cherish me, take me on or pull me down
You choose (Wait!)
Oh, safe in the ache of soul-decay!
'Cause I will remember you
Will you (Remember me?)
Bespoke to broken, this interwoven tapestry of tragedy,
Crooked frames and cracked glazing
Slithers of wistful window gazes glint in borrowed light
Where doorways with no door stage a ballet of leaves,
Who pirouette in the footsteps of once glorious days
By peeling paint, I'm a sunken ceiling,
I'm cracking up, and can seem threatening
I'm falling apart
I'm scary at night
Take dark, forbidden
Keep out, keep out!
No, no, no go forth
A has-been, a once was, the leftovers, an eyesore, bleeding, oxidising,
A few remaining, unloved, emotionally damaged, a waste of space,
A nuisance, I haven't had time to become, unwanted!
What's gone? I'm losing it
This is not what I stand for
This is not what I stand for
This is not what I stand for
It was a perfectly good grand piano
Stop in the name of love!
I've got just what you're looking for!
I've got tree-lined interiors,
Where we can dine with the biosphere
If you'll take care of me, I'll take care of you
If you be good to me, then I'll be good to you
I'm a story in mourning, and you're the author
So pour out your masterpiece
Entropy increasing, how long before I'm dust?
Can we discuss?
The lyrics of Neglected Space by Imogen Heap describe the personification of a decaying or neglected space that hopes to be revived and cared for by someone who values its existence. The neglected space is described as a vulnerable and defenseless host that welcomes in unwanted individuals such as "desperate lovers" seeking privacy. The lyrics suggest that the space is a witness to many stories of tragic events, such as broken relationships and emotional damage. The space understands the impermanence of life and the inevitable entropy that leads to its decay, pleading with the author or caretaker to cherish and restore its beauty.
The lyrics also portray the space's deep desire to connect with someone, stating "If you look after me, I'll look after you… If you stand up for me, I'll stand up for you." The space feels that it has the potential to be someone's "peaceful corner" and a symbol of hope among the decay. The song portrays the idea that even the most neglected or forgotten spaces have their own unique stories and beauty worth preserving.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello
Imogen Heap greets an individual
I watch you come and go
Imogen Heap observes the person's actions
I know you can hear my voice
Imogen Heap knows that the person can hear her
Don't walk away
Imogen Heap requests for the person to stay
Come daydream with me
Imogen Heap invites the person to daydream with her
In closed loops and future-proof cardboard to caviar
Imogen Heap suggests creating something from scratch and seeing it through to success
Let's show them how good we are
Imogen Heap proposes to prove the doubters wrong
If you look after me, I'll look after you
Imogen Heap suggests a partnership where they take care of each other
Sonar, night vision or desperate lovers
Imogen Heap lists things that need privacy
Seeking privacy for their forbidden
Imogen Heap explains why privacy is needed
I am their defenseless host
Imogen Heap explains that she is vulnerable to being used for privacy
Through my open wounds they let themselves in Sheltered (sheltered), they mock me (they mock me)
Imogen Heap describes how her vulnerability is exploited and she is mocked
If you stand up for me, I'll stand up for you
Imogen Heap proposes a partnership of standing up for each other
I'm weather-beaten in a losing battle punctured by nature, becoming organic The air in here ages me, ungracefully!
Imogen Heap describes her decaying state in a deteriorating environment
But if you take care of me, I will take care of you
Imogen Heap reiterates the idea of taking care of each other
Oh, my crumbling heart!
Imogen Heap expresses the state of her heart
If you'll be good to me, I'll be good to you
Imogen Heap reiterates the idea of each other's goodness
I'm amidst
Imogen Heap is present
I could be the best decision you ever made, a beacon, your peaceful corner
Imogen Heap suggests that she could be an excellent choice and a source of serenity
Find me, cherish me, take me on or pull me down You choose (Wait!)
Imogen Heap gives the person options and asks them to wait before deciding
Oh, safe in the ache of soul-decay!
Imogen Heap states that soul decay provides a sort of protection
'Cause I will remember you Will you (Remember me?)
Imogen Heap promises to remember the person and asks if they will remember her
Bespoke to broken, this interwoven tapestry of tragedy, Crooked frames and cracked glazing Slithers of wistful window gazes glint in borrowed light
Imogen Heap describes her state with metaphors of a tapestry, crooked frames, and window gazes
Where doorways with no door stage a ballet of leaves, Who pirouette in the footsteps of once glorious days
Imogen Heap describes an image of doorways without doors and leaves pirouetting
By peeling paint, I'm a sunken ceiling, I'm cracking up, and can seem threatening
Imogen Heap expresses her decaying state with vivid images of a sunken ceiling and cracking paint
I'm falling apart
Imogen Heap reaffirms her decaying state
I'm scary at night
Imogen Heap describes her fear-inducing state at night
Take dark, forbidden Keep out, keep out! No, no, no go forth
Imogen Heap warns others to stay out but then encourages them to come close
A has-been, a once was, the leftovers, an eyesore, bleeding, oxidising, A few remaining, unloved, emotionally damaged, a waste of space, A nuisance, I haven't had time to become, unwanted! What's gone? I'm losing it This is not what I stand for This is not what I stand for This is not what I stand for
Imogen Heap describes herself as unwanted and a waste of space and then contradicts those views, saying that it is not what she stands for
It was a perfectly good grand piano
Imogen Heap questions why something good is left unused
Stop in the name of love!
Imogen Heap demands a stop in the name of love
I've got just what you're looking for! I've got tree-lined interiors, Where we can dine with the biosphere
Imogen Heap offers an attractive proposition with nature-infused interiors
If you'll take care of me, I'll take care of you
Imogen Heap reiterates taking care of each other
If you be good to me, then I'll be good to you
Imogen Heap reiterates each other's goodness
I'm a story in mourning, and you're the author So pour out your masterpiece
Imogen Heap frames herself as a story in mourning and requests the person to create their masterpiece
Entropy increasing, how long before I'm dust?
Imogen Heap questions the length of her life
Can we discuss?
Imogen Heap requests a discussion
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IMOGEN JENNIFER JANE HEAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ChalkHeart100
I never thought that I would hear a song sung from the point of view of an abandoned house, let alone that it could be so beautiful and moving. This woman is a genius.
@LioBilly
She really is
@MyTechnicolorChicken
I wish more people could enjoy and appreciate her work.
@michaelmacek474
Shhh. She's secret. Yeah I agree w/ you.
@Ruba546
Yes
@Bird_Therian
mhm
@JonathanMarroniOliveira
I agree!
@josh-uj1gw
your wish is granted
@Rukanism
At first I was confused by this song. I wasn't sure how to judge it, where to place it. Then I put it aside for a while, and accidentally came to listening to it one day on the bus to work. Suddenly, my perception of this song changed entirely; it was like a new dimension of it opened up to me. I really felt it. It was art, brilliant, beautiful. I was completely entranced by it, I loved it. I felt completely awake, present, alive. Only a real artist can accomplish that feeling. Thank you Immi!
@mothpawbs027
It almost feels like this ancient force trying to coerce me into joining it and carrying on its legacy
I like it