英伦创作迷幻电音歌手,电音加迷离女声,让人沉醉。
Imogen Heap1977年12月9日出生,是英国Frou Frou组合的女主音。通常来说一个组合取得的成就要比成员单飞后更大,乐手们先是组成一支乐队打出名气然后分道扬镳发展自己的音乐事业,但是对Imogen Heap来说情形则完全不同。这位有着歌手、歌曲作家双重身份的英国女孩,同时还是一位受过古典钢琴培训演奏家。在加入伦敦双人组合Frou Frou几年之前,她已经是在英国乐坛颇有建树的独唱歌手。70年代末期出生在埃塞克斯的Imogen Heap从那里开始学习欧洲古典钢琴。少年时代离家进入寄宿学校后,她对摇滚乐萌生兴趣。她意识到另类流行摇滚、欧洲流行和电子音乐才是自己的主要爱好,于是决定改变做一名专业古典乐手的初衷。1997年不到20岁的Imogen Heap作为独唱歌手与Almo Sounds公司签下合约,并于次年发行了处女专辑《I Megaphone》。这张唱片受Kate Bush、Annie Lennox、Eurythmics乐队和前Sugarcubes乐队成员Bjork等众多乐坛前辈的影响。Imogen Heap被有的评论家比作创作型歌手PJ Harvey,但她否认自己受到Harvey的影响。《I Megaphone》中Imogen得以与David Kahne、Dave Stewart和Guy Sigsworth三位制作人合作。专辑完成后Imogen Heap与Sigsworth一直保持联系。2000年初两人联手成立了Frou Frou双人组。单从名字看,人们可能会以为Frou Frou是口香糖的名字,也有人认为他们的音乐会滑稽而轻浮。但事实绝非如此,Imogen Heap与Sigsworth的另类流行摇滚,充满了独特的艺术气氛、梦幻色彩和天籁之声。2001年两人以Frou Frou的名义与MCA/Universal公司签约。但是Imogen Heap并未因此放弃单飞事业,所以Frou Frou只能算一个业余组合。2002年组合首张专辑《Details》在英美两国发行,并把“Breath In”作为专辑首支单曲。2005年Imogen Heap重新开始了单飞生涯发行了《Speak for Yourself》。
As a rule, group efforts are something that come before a solo career--not after a solo career is in full swing. First, the artist makes a name for himself/herself as part of a group, then the artist leaves the group to become a full-time solo artist. That's usually how it works, but with Imogen Heap, it was the other way around; the British singer/songwriter (who is also a classically trained pianist) had been an established solo artist for a few years when she became half of the London-based duo Frou Frou. Although Heap now lives in London, she isn't a native of England's largest city. Born in the late ?70s, Heap lived in Essex, England as a pre-teen--and it was in Essex that she first studied European classical piano. Heap didn't really get into rock until she went off to boarding school as a teenager; eventually, she decided against being a full-time classical instrumentalist and realized that alternative pop-rock, Euro-pop and electronica would her main focus. In 1997--when Heap was in her late teens--she signed with Almo Sounds as a solo artist. I Megaphone, Heap's debut album, was released by Almo in 1998; the album's influences ranged from Kate Bush (a frequent comparison) to Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics to former Sugarcubes vocalist Bj?rk. Some reviewers have compared Heap to PJ Harvey, although Heap has denied that Harvey is an influence. I Megaphone found Heap working with three different producers: David Kahne, Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics fame) and Guy Sigsworth (who has worked with major artists like Madonna, Bj?rk and Seal). After I Megaphone, Heap and Sigsworth kept in touch--and in the early 2000s, they were reunited as the duo Frou Frou. Hearing the name Frou Frou, one might expect something bubble gum; one might expect some fun, frivolous Euro-pop along the lines of ABBA, Bananarama Fun Fun, Jemma & Elise or Aqua. But there is nothing bubble gum about Frou Frou, whose alternative pop-rock tends to be atmospheric, dreamy and ethereal. Frou Frou's work is very European-sounding, although not in a cutesy, bubble gum way. As Frou Frou, Heap and Sigsworth signed with MCA/Universal in 2001, which didn't mean that Heap was giving up her solo career -- Frou Frou was meant to be a part-time project. Details, the British duo's first album, was released in England and the United States in 2002. "Breath In" was released as the album's first single. In 2005, Heap resumed her solo career with the release of Speak for Yourself.