Horniculture

So I discovered a new artist!

… OK, I didn’t discover her. She’s been around for a few years, it turns out. …But my musical ears have been enlightened for sure!

(…My apologies to fans of ‘The O.C.’ who apparently, I learned during my research, have heard some of her songs during various episodes. But for those who never have seen an episode of the teen drama -- like me …)

I give you Imogen Heap.

My story starts with the arrival of the November/December edition of Paste and ‘Paste Sampler No. 19.’ On the disc, Track No. 16 is a mesmerizing, haunting, dream-like, electronic a cappella, titled ‘Hide And Seek’ by Imogen Heap … There’s simply no way to describe it; you’ve got to hear it for yourself.

The track got me so hooked and captivated that I literally had it on repeat for days in December -- listening to absolutely nothing but ‘Hide And Seek’ as I got ready for work in the morning or took some time to write at night …

And I vowed then I would have to find more about this Imogen Heap person …

Fast forward to last night when I was downloading more of my music collection on to my iPod and I wandered off into the iTunes Store. I did a search for Imogen Heap and started listening to some samples from the first album that came up, ‘Speak For Yourself.’ In no time, I was captivated again -- by her soothing, cutting voice, and the catchy grooves -- and I began downloading the album.

The second track on the album -- ‘Goodnight And Go’ -- wow. Easily my favorite track on the album. A bouncy, fun track about love that made me want to twirl around and dance on a mountain top like Julie Andrews in ‘The Sound of Music’ …I’m not kidding! (You can hear it and other's on her MySpace site.)

The remaining songs are a nice combination of fast-paced, sonically charged tunes and slower grooves. And all of them will surprise you more than the song before, while keeping you wanting more -- I guarantee.

But there’s more to the story …

So as I’m listing to all this stuff, I’m thinking, “I know I’ve heard this voice before! … On the ‘Garden State Soundtrack,’ right? That ‘Let Go’ song, right?” … So I check the track listing on the soundtrack album and, “Nope, ‘Let Go’ is by some band called Frou Frou. Ah well. This Imogen Heap stuff is pretty sweet…”

So today -- I haven’t been listening to anything but Imogen (and while I’m at it, can I just say how much I looooove my iPod? Suddenly, I have the ability to carry my ENTIRE music collection with me on a tiny metal box and listen to any song wherever, whenever I want. That’s just awesome! …I can listen to it in the car -- instead of hearing like the same five songs over and over on local radio -- and at work it makes a world of difference to keep my creative juices flowing and drowning out the surrounding noises of people talking on phones and pecking on computers. Anyway …) and I logged on to Wikipedia (revolutionary web site, I say!) to find out more about this Imogen Heap. And wouldn’t you know it …

Frou Frou IS Imogen Heap! … Apparently Frou Frou was some side project she did with her collaborator Guy Sigsworth. They released an album, titled ‘Details,’ and yes, ‘Let Go’ was featured on the ‘Garden State Soundtrack.’

Don’t believe me when I’m telling how good this album is? Check out the reviews at Amazon.