British chanteuse Imogen Heap wrote, recorded, and financed Speak for Yourself all by herself, even remortgaging the London flat that houses her home studio to bankroll the project. The classically trained pianist was well equipped to go it alone: she recorded her 1998 solo debut, I Megaphone (Almo Sounds), with revered Madonna producer Guy Sigsworth, and in 2002 the pair’s collaboration as the stylish electropop duo Frou Frou yielded the album Details (Island) and the cult single "Breathe In." Heap’s profile got a boost last year when the Frou Frou tune "Let Go" was featured on the Garden State soundtrack, and The OC used two tracks from Speak for Yourself — the electro-soul torch song "Hide and Seek" and the swinging ode to love-gone-wrong "Goodnight and Go." Evocative songs that set the mood with electronic effects and dreampop soundscapes bring to mind classic Kate Bush, but Heap also has a whimsical side, and that earned "Hide and Seek" a prime spot on the recent Music from the OC Mix 5.
Imogen Heap | Paradise Rock Club | 967 Comm Ave, Boston | Jan 13 | 617.562.8800
