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Me the machine imogene heap lyricsx3/20/2023 ![]() Minds Without Fear’ is an Indian influenced piece featuring vocals from superstar film music directors Vishal-Shekhar. A number of artists have tried to fuse east and west before with varying degrees of success, in this case Heap has clearly given her collaborators a free hand and it shows, this could easily come from one of their own productions and this give a sheen of authenticity lacking in many other’s attempts. As with every other track on ‘Sparks’ it demands repeated listening to allow a full discussion to take place. This isn’t a lyric, it is a poem with a soundtrack which builds to the final question “Can We Discuss?”. The album continues apace with ‘Lifeline’ and ‘Neglected Space’, the intro of which sees the influence of aforementioned LAURIE ANDERSON as Heap uses her voice, once again layered and effected, as the main instrumental thrust. A heart melting electro-ballad, which has been reworked slightly for ‘Sparks’, it sits as well in this set as it was surprising in the Canadian house artist’s set. ![]() These tracks are used throughout as breaks from the more traditional songs and the expect the unexpected continues with ‘Telemiscommunications’ which first featured on collaborator’s DEADMAU5’s ‘> album title goes here <‘ from 2012. ![]() But like much of her work, it does due to the juxtaposition against the other tracks and also the listeners expectations from a pop album. Travelling the globe, in a Stewart Copeland style, during the writing has infused the instrumental tracks on the album with a world music flavour, best shown with fourth track ‘Cycle Song’, a thundering temple drum driven piece which in the electronic context of the album shouldn’t work. ![]() The breathtaking leaps taken in the song’s arrangement, from the top of happy to the depths of sadness at the end of a relationship, a theme that occurs over and over again in the album, highlights most why you should listen to IMOGEN HEAP and also why many listeners find her a challenge. This starts as a vocal list of the things that help her “better sleep at night”. ‘The Listening Chair’ has Heap breaking out her well-known quirkiness. As always however Heap throws in tonal surprises, in this case a string section which adds a sense of melancholy to the song. ‘Entanglement’ is a more straightforward electro track with 808 percussion and synth bass underpinning a beautiful vocal and lyric. Opener ‘You Know Where To Find Me’ is a typical densely layered piece with a classically influenced piano motif accompanied by multi-tracked and effected vocals, all perfectly placed in the arrangement. The opening four tracks layout the various musical styles used on the album. She calls these works in progress ‘Heapsongs’ and they are greatly anticipated by her fans who then give feedback via Twitter. This is a very Heap approach, one that she started with 2009’s ‘Ellipse’, used to gather fan feedback and help shape the final product. This has been a work which has had a very public gestation with various tracks released as singles over the past two and a half years. ![]() IMOGEN HEAP, it is important to note, is not a songwriter, she is a composer.Īs such, she inhabits a world somewhere between female fronted groups such as GOLDFRAPP or FLORENCE & THE MACHINE (who would kill to have Heap’s musical chops) and LAURIE ANDERSON and because of the challenging nature of her work, she isn’t as big as she should be. This is clearly demonstrated with ‘Sparks’, her first album in five years. ![]()
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