The good - A great new discovery for me

The bad - I didn’t discover her sooner

The ugly - Absolutely nothing

I first became aware of Imogen Heap when I read an interesting interview with her in the October 2009 issue of Keyboard magazine. But I’ve read a lot of interesting interviews with musicians whose musical talents or vision didn’t impress or connect with me. So I didn’t give Imogen Heap a second thought.

Once Again, Nancy Gives The Perfect Gift
About a month ago, Nancy gave me Jeff Beck’s excellent new DVD Performing This Week…Live At Ronnie Scott’s. This is an excellent DVD. Highly recommended! It includes guest appearances by Joss Stone, Imogen Heap, and Eric Clapton, adding their magical touch to the already excellent performances by Beck and his all-star band.

Heap Surprised Me
There was something special about Imogen Heap’s vocal performance and presence on the stage. The fact that she is tall and beautiful certainly didn’t hurt.

She first sang her song “Blanket,” which I really enjoyed, although I didn’t particularly care for the few rap style lines she sang in it. Hey, I don’t like rap or hip hop. But the song and Heap’s vocals were excellent. Then she reappeared on an encore to sing the old blues standard “Rollin’ And Tumblin’.” She really let loose on this one! Wow, what a diverse and talented vocalist. Each time I watched the DVD, Heap’s performance impressed me more and more. But I would soon discover that Imogen Heap’s talents go far beyond her excellent vocal capabilities.

Hear Heap’s New Album For Free
Intrigued by the artist, I did a Google search and found Heap’s official web site, which included a link to listen to streaming audio of her new album Ellipse for free. So I followed the link and listened to Ellipse in its entirety. I was impressed with the songs, the music and vocals, the mix and production. I was under the impression that Heap had gone the one-woman-band route on this album. I later found out that Heap included a few guest artists, but their contributions are very much ancillary. This album is very much the music vision and performance of Imogene Heap, from beginning to end. Quite impressive!

Heap’s Official YouTube Videos
I did some research and found that Imogen has her own official YouTube channel with some great videos, including the very entertaining video blog series (with 40 videos) where she documents building her new recording studio and recording Ellipse. I found these video blogs very entertaining, with Heap’s wit, humor, and engaging personality in full display. Of course, being a one-man-band artist myself, with my own recording studio, I was most interested in those aspects of the video blogs.

Ellipse Added To My Collection
After listening to the free music stream of Ellipse again, I purchased the special 2 CD “Immi’s Favourite Edition,” which includes instrumental versions of all the tracks. It will probably take a couple of weeks for the CD to arrive. So it remains to be seen just where this album, and Imogen Heap, will end up on my personal rating system.

Formal Background, Multi-Talented
Heap is a classically trained musician on several instruments including piano, cello, and clarinet. This formal music background adds that “something special” to her music creations. She also plays guitar, drums, and several other interesting “non-mainstream” instruments. She also is an expert at sampling and sequencing, and has built a reputation for taking everyday objects and using them as musical instruments. She seems to have great skills and talents as an audio engineer, mixer, and producer of music. Add it all up and you get something special and unique—Imogen Heap.

Diversity In My Music Collection
Imogen Heap’s music style isn’t something that I would normally be interested in. Seemingly targeted towards the dance and electronica pop radio audience, she adds just enough rock and classical influences to draw me in. Heap’s ability to write and create music that can reach beyond the music industry “marketing machine’s” forced pigeon-holed genre classification and targeted audience is the mark of a truly gifted artist.

Finding Interesting Music In Strange Places
I’ve often found music that interests me where I’d least expect it. I found jazz and rock/jazz fusion music when I was looking to grow beyond 3-chord, amplified guitar rock music. I found blues music from jazz, and other music styles while studying both blues and jazz.

Nancy’s Influence
Nancy has been responsible, either directly or indirectly, for most of my music discoveries over the past 13 years. She was with me when I discovered God Street Wine, who was the opening act at an Allman Brothers Band concert. Nancy’s favorite artist is Joni Mitchell, and I discovered the great songwriter and storyteller Dave Alvin when he was the opening act at a Joni Mitchell/Bob Dylan concert we attended. Alvin has become one of my all-time favorites, and has influenced my own song writing. Of course, Nancy gave me the Jeff Beck DVD, which led to my interest in Imogen Heap. She gave me a Sonny Landreth CD, and I now have his entire album collection.

The Best Of All
Perhaps the best and most influential gift that Nancy has given me were two Vladimir Horowitz CDs I received one Christmas. Horowitz is regarded as one of the greatest classical pianists of all time. I immediately became totally immersed in these CDs, classical solo piano music in general, and the great Vladimir Horowitz in specific. This has enriched both my enjoyment of music, and my breadth as a musician in ways beyond compare. I even took formal piano lessons for 18 months as a direct result.

Discover Your Own New Favorite Artist Or Music Style
Music is a great form of expression, capable of sparking so many different emotions, in a great variety of diverse styles. Try listening to great, renowned artists who perform in styles you don’t normally listen to. Allow yourself some time to enjoy music fully, and study it deeply. You never know what you’ll discover hidden just below the surface.

…jf…

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 10:46 am and is filed under music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.