Date: 20 January 2011
Imogen Heap the multitalented multi-instrumentalist is finally flying our way, and the pleasure playground of Emperors Casino is where she’s touching down for her first concert on the 29th January
The Grammy nominated singer, who’s inspired adoring fans the world over with her stylish, tech-savvy musicality, conjures up captivating digital dreamscapes. Ms Heap calls upon both traditional instrumentation and computers, to create a sound with folk memories that simultaneously reaches out to a brave new technological future. Her sound has been perfectly described as “organic electronica”.
Showbiz celebrities who number themselves amongst her fan base include Brian Eno, Jeff Beck, Zach Braff, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Carson Daly. Even the usually bitchy Hollywood mega blogger, Perez Hilton, has championed her ability to cast a spell on her audience.
She was a mere 12 years old when she learned how to layer sound with an Atari and sequencing software. At 18 she signed her first record contract, and two years later, she released her debut album, ‘iMegaphone‘.
In 2002, Imogen embarked on a short collaborative journey with Guy Sigsworth, in the form of electronica duo Frou Frou. Their album, ‘Details‘, exposed an airier, pop-ier side to her music.
Imogen’s second solo album, ‘Speak For Yourself ’ took Imogen exactly a year to write and produce. It was released in 2005, and delighted music lovers and critics alike with its emotional variety, and the fashion with which it folded everyday sound effects into its many layers. Despite her reputation for being esoteric, her album delivers memorable pop hooks amongst its electronic, symphonic psychedelia.
This ever-innovative artist has been amongst the first to truly immerse herself in the Internet culture, which she’s achieved by simultaneously embracing the interactive nature of social networking tools such as Facebook, MySpace, iTunes, YouTube and blogging.
Her live shows send fans into paroxysms of glee - with fairy lights, her laptop, a clear Perspex piano, Keytar and an mbira; and by looping sounds and hitting switches, she pulls her audiences into her intimate and intoxicating world.
In 2005 and 2006 Imogen’s popularity exploded, and it seemed that there was barely a new movie or TV show that didn’t have one of her songs in its soundtrack.
2007 would bring with it Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Song Written For a Motion Picture. Although she wasn’t to take home a trophy, she will live down in Grammy history for her outrageous lily pond-themed dress - complete with Gary The Grammy Frog!
In that year, she would also start work on her third album ‘Ellipse’. Apart from deconstructing what seemed like every minute of that process on the usual social media, she added video-blogging to this crazy, cathartic process. The album was finally released in late 2009, and fans fairly tripped over themselves to get their hands on it.
No two shows of Imogen Heap’s are ever quite the same, but you can always be sure of this; that you’ll be taken captive on a thrilling aural adventure, and that you will never again regard music in quite the same way…
Book at Computicket at their Checkers supermarket outlets, or via www.computicket.com or 083 915 8000
