I saw Imogen Heap on Sunday for the first time since she performed at the Fox Theatre in Colorado back in 2006. I was blown away then by the eccentric ingenuity and musical explosion that is Imogen Heap, and last night was no different. Imogen performed as part of the live radio show, E-Town, which gives viewers an intimate look at featured artists. Musicians perform 5-6 songs and are interviewed by the host in front of a live audience. Imogen connected immediately with fans both with her quirky humor and by revealing unfiltered thoughts, whether it be her nervousness or how she commands her various gadgets, all with that alluring English accent.

Here are some tracks off Imogen’s latest album, Ellipse(2009), recorded in the basement studio of her elliptically shaped family home, which she bought several years ago. Coincidentally, the studio used to be her old play room! Love it.

mp3: Imogen Heap – Wait It Out – Ellipse (2009)
mp3: Imogen Heap – Little Bird – Ellipse (2009)

Her music is gorgeously layered, atmospheric, electro pop filled with sound effects, bizarre instruments, and Imogen’s achingly ethereal voice. Her vocals, with the use of layering, become a shimmering orchestra of breathy coos, chirps, whispers and hums. Each song is heavily produced, incorporating elements of dance, rock and electronica, all with a feminine edge. In addition to manipulating electronic sounds, she works with organic ones, maybe water dripping or the sonorous ring induced by spinning her finger around the top of wine glass. Imogen constantly pushes her own sonic limits, which makes the music so endlessly captivating and mesmerizing, sending you adrift into a land of her own invention. You can feel her perfectionism and the pressure she places upon herself within each masterfully crafted sonic masterpiece.

Sunday evening, she played barefoot among an array of keyboards, laptops, gongs, a keytar, an Array mbira (based on the African thumb piano), and the curious “hang” – a flying saucer shaped, harmonically tuned steel idiophone. This quote from a 2005 interview, perfectly describes the soul behind the sounds. “I just love crafting and shaping sounds. Actually, many of the sounds that I work with start off as organic instruments – guitar, piano, clarinet, etc. But I do love the rigidity of electronic drums… I would record live drums, and then I would spend a day editing them to take the life out of them. I like to breathe my own life into these sounds, and I do try to keep the ‘air’ in the music. Some people think electronic music is cold, but I think that has more to do with the people listening than the actual music itself.”

The London songstress did not get on well with the music teacher at her boarding school, so she resorted to teaching herself sequencing, music engineering, sampling and production on Atari computers. She went on to study at the BRIT School of Performing Arts & Technology. Imogen made her solo debut at the celebrated Prince’s Trust Concert in Hyde Park in 1996, during which she performed four songs between sets by none other than The Who and Eric Clapton. i Megaphone came out in 1998, but she didn’t hit the spotlight until her electronic duo Frou Frou found itself with a song on Garden State soundtrack in 2004. 2005′s Speak for Yourself was inspired by her recent divorce and features the intoxicating single, Hide and Seek. I actually found out about Imogen from my 16-year-old cousin who told me that playing Hide and Seek during dance performances was all the rage. Both “Goodnight and Go” and “Hide and Seek” were featured on the O.C., after which “Hide and Seek” made its way to #1 on the itunes download chart. In 2006, Heap was nominated for two Grammy Awards and made a legendary appearance at Coachella.

The genius of Imogen Heap was ever-present on Sunday. Catch her on remaining U.S. dates if you can. Otherwise, start listening and don’t miss the next time she works her way through the U.S.

Nov 17 – Granda Theatre, Dallas, Texas (SOLD OUT)
Nov 18 – La Zona Rosa, Austin, Texas
Nov 20 – Exit In, Nashville, Tennessee (SOLD OUT)
Nov 21 – Square Room, Knoxville, Tennessee
Nov 22 – Variety Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia (SOLD OUT)
Nov 24 – Vic Theatre, Chicago, Illinois
Nov 26 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
Nov 28 – Higher Ground, Burlington, Vermont
Nov 30 – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, Washington, Washington DC (SOLD OUT)
Dec 1 – Theatre Of Living Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 2 – Webster Hall, New York, New York
Dec 3 – Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York, New York

Website | MySpace

The more I read about Fanfarlo, the more I get how extensive the interest is in this young, London-based quintet. The band, formed in 2006 by multi-instrumentalist Simon Balthazar, creates highly orchestrated, swelling indie-pop filled with trumpet, violin, mandolin and majestic vocal harmonies. The result is wonderously sublime and buoyont, ripe with an injection of melodic sunshine. The band released their debut album, Reservoir, earlier this year to swelling acclaim. The endearing collection of songs is filled with near misses, but “Harold T. Wilkins” and “The Walls Are Coming Down” get it just right and feel positively good. In an effort to spread the word far and wide and make their music as accessible as possible, Fanfarlo chose to offer Reservoir as a $1 download on their site for the first six months after its release. Seems to have worked well. The band’s heavy internet presence, captivating live show, and appearances at SXSW and CMJ, haven’t hurt either. The blog found on their site homepage and diary is hysterical.

At points, I get the feeling that Fanfarlo might have the undeniable youth-inspired energy of Ra Ra Riot who broke rapidly on the scene back in 2006/07. But I haven’t seen the band live yet, so we’ll have to see if the hype has merit. We’ve got the chance as the rising band is on a highly anticipated tour, hitting intimate venues in music hubs across the U.S.

mp3: Fanfarlo – Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time – Reservoir (2009)
mp3: Fanfarlo – The Walls Are Coming Down – Reservoir (2009)

Nov 13 – Moes, Englewood, Colorado
Nov 14 – The State Room, Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 16 – Knitting Factory, Boise, Idaho
Nov 17 – Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, Washington
Nov 18 – The Media Club, British Columbia, British Columbia
Nov 19 – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, Oregon
Nov 20 – Great Basin Brewing Company, Sparks, Nevada
Nov 22 – Amoeba instore performance, San Francisco, California
Nov 22 – Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, California
Nov 23 – Fingerprints instore performance, Long Beach, California
Nov 23 – The Echo, Los Angeles, California
Nov 24 – The Casbah, San Diego, California
Nov 27 – Muddy Waters, Santa Barbara, California
Nov 29 – Club Congress, Tucson, Arizona
Nov 30 – Sante Fe Brewing Co, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Dec 2 – Waterloo Records instore performance, Austin, Texas
Dec 2 – The Independent, Austin, Texas
Dec 3 – The Loft, Dallas, Texas
Dec 4 – Cactus Records instore performance, Houston, Texas
Dec 4 – Walter’s On Washington, Houston, Texas
Dec 6 – The Bottletree, Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 9 – Metro Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland
Dec 10 – AKA Philadelphia instore performance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 10 – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 11 – IOTA Club & Cafe, Arlington, Virginia
Dec 12 – Brillobox, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dec 14 – Majestic Cafe, Detroit, Michigan
Dec 15 – El Mocambo, Toronto, Ontario
Dec 16 – Il Motore, Montreal, Quebec
Dec 17 – T.T. The Bear’s, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dec 18 – Webster Hall, New York, New York

Fanfarlo | MySpace

Download through Amazon: Reservoir [Deluxe]