In a world full of media-trained robots, manufactured boybands with enough hairspray to withstand a hurricane, and money-hungry executives who’d sell their daughters if it guaranteed them a couple of extra quid, Imogen Heap is somewhat of an anomaly. After being told her second album wasn’t to go ahead because it lacked ‘potential hits’, she stuck two fingers firmly up in the air and decided to do it her way. Thus, ‘Speak For Yourself‘ was born. Then, in a moment of joy, her song ‘Hide & Seek‘ was featured on two episodes of then-popular U.S. drama ‘The O.C.’, propelling her into stardom in one swoop. Imogen Heap had arrived, and on her own terms.
Ten years later, it’s 2014 and Imogen has released album number four in the form of ‘Sparks‘. It began as a concept album in 2011 under the name ‘heapsong‘ – Heap asked her fans to send her ‘sound seeds’: samples of every day sounds, such as a dishwasher operating, a bicycle, or a burning match. To the average person, this may sound slightly unorthodox, but for a woman who built a verse of a song around a dripping tap in her kitchen (see: ‘Wait It Out‘ from her previous album ‘Ellipse‘), it’s merely another day in the life. ‘Lifeline‘ was created by this quirky method of songwriting, and over the next three years, Imogen would partake on a journey to create her fourth album.
‘I had no idea what was going to happen when I started this album, and that was the point,’ Imogen explained in the booklet of this album. ‘The albums I’d released previously included non-stop writing and recording, a tour directly after and once I’d finished, it was time to make another album. I had to break the cycle before I went mad.’
The enthralling opener ‘You Know Where To Find Me‘ sets the tone with Imogen’s dulcet strains entwining with a lone piano, all with patience and no sense of urgency. The pace stays at this tone for the majority of the album; Imogen’s incredible journey is reflected in the diversity and quality, and there is literally no stone that she hasn’t unturned. From the childish and bright-eyed innocence of ‘Me The Machine‘ to the quirky Eastern-European tinged ‘Xizi She Knows‘, we follow her journey as if we’re living it ourselves.
Highlights include the opulent, shimmering electro-ballad ‘Entanglement‘, with its twinkling beats and swooping strings woven with Imogen’s silky and seductive vocals – “It’s home where you hold me/So show me no mercy”, she sighs with contentment, sounding more comfortable in her own skin than she ever has. The mighty ‘Minds Without Fear‘ teams Imogen with Vishal-Shekhar in an understated yet urgent piece, once again with striking imagery – ‘We move like lightning/Charging through the angry skies/And intercept the arrow of time’ – ominous chants and sublime harps snaking around the echo of drums, it’s breathtaking. ‘Run-Time’ sees Imogen taking on the subject of a broken relationship – ‘Dark matters bonded us/Way beyond our best-by date’, she trills over playful, gurgling keyboards and starry synths.
Perhaps most astonishing is Imogen’s total command over the direction of the album, and the effort she puts into producing this as her art form. She experiments with spoken word prose on two songs: the dark ‘Neglected Spaces‘, with nerve-twitching results, and her collaboration with Deadmau5 is a fascinating affair, with a cold, minimalist beat creeping underneath Imogen’s detatched vocals. Even the two instrumental songs on the album – ‘Cycle Song‘ and ‘Climb To Sakteng‘ – tell a story without needing her colourful words, showing that her music speaks for itself.
However, the two most fascinating songs come in the form of ‘The Listening Chair‘ and the album closer, ‘Propeller Seeds‘. The former is a joyous journey through Imogen’s life, from her birth to the present day, but the most curious thing? The song isn’t finished. Yes, that’s right. Imogen plans to add another minute to the track every seven years, the reason being that she wants to know, ‘What is the song that still needs to be written?’ The latter is a song that incorportates ‘3D sounds’ into music (the release of the single actually recommended you listen to it through headphones to fully experience the song) – underneath the song you can hear quiet conversations, the sound of trees and plants growing, her backing vocals, and the song switches tone with the command of Imogen’s words – it turns disco for three seconds, and then echos as Imogen takes a ‘cold shower’. It’s a wistful, whimsical end to a truly unique and innovative album.
‘Sparks‘ isn’t an entirely easy album to digest – it’s complex, more of a collective piece than an album of separate songs, certainly nothing that BBC Radio 1 would be comfortable playing. But this is part of its innate charm. It’s a storybook of the world’s music and a real treat on the ears. When asked of the album, Imogen says, ‘I never imagined I’d be living in China, trekking through the Himalayas, exploring 3D sounds, and making a song that only completes when I die. I’m actually now feeling healthy after an album. ‘Sparks‘ became a part of my life rather than putting it on hold’. It’s a wonderful thing to hear from a musician, a woman who dedicates her life to her art without it consuming her, and allowing her fans to partake on a journey with her.
And as the final line of ‘Propeller Seeds‘ asks, “What does this story hold for us?” As long as you continue, Immi, I’ll follow you wherever it takes us.
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