C.M. with Imogen Heap

Imogen Heap is no ordinary 19-year-old. Six foot tall and striking, with a shock of red hair, she is an extraordinary singer and songwriter. She proved her talents at a very early age and was always on course for a high profile musical career. Signed to Almo Sounds, Imogen recently released her self-penned debut single "Getting Scared." Produced by Guy Sigsworth (keyboard programmer for Bjork), it also features the tracks, "Miel" and "Not You Again." The Knowledge found out more In the Back of the Cab.

How did your career in the music industry begin?
It began in the foyer of the school I used to go to (it was a college in Croydon, I went there to do A-levels). My manager walked in and a couple of days later he came back and asked me to play a few things on the piano.

What do you friends think about your impending stardom?
They're very excited. They're kind of a bit mystified because it's a very different world and they don't quite understand a lot of what's going on. But generally they love it and they love coming to the live shows.

Do you find your new lifestyle to be quite pressured and if so why?
It has been, but now it's calmed down a little bit. It's kind of like a constant analysing of me and they say 'oh you're like this' or 'you're like that' or 'you're crap' or 'you're something' and I think but why, you don't know me and I'm not really like that. They get the wrong end of the stick.

Your songs are very perceptive - how do you set about writing lyrics?
It depends on the song, it could be something I've done through the day or something I've been thinking about for a while, and maybe that day or in a couple of days it'll hit me on the head. Quite a lot of the time I work on a song over a period of time, not intentionally. Like the other day, I was working on a track and I remembered a bit of guitar riff I'd recorded on my answering machine at home. I played it back and it fitted perfectly with the tune and then all the chorus and things came afterwards.

You've played a few London gigs lately - do you get nervous?
No - there was one I got nervous on but that was when all the record companies were there. I get VERY nervous about record companies. You just start thinking, oh god, what can I do to improve but at the end of the day you are what you are.

Whose idea was it to put the spooky bit at the end of the "Getting Scared" CD?
We were mastering it in America and I thought, 'Oh! I want to put something on the end'. The guy in the studio said, 'You can't record, it's a mastering studio'. So I said, 'Haven't you got a microphone?' He said 'Well - yeah'. So I said, 'Come on then! Let's have a go'. He was like, 'Oh all right then'.

I understand that you play the piano, since when and do you play any other instruments?
I played the keys pretty much all my life as far back as I realised what a piano was. I play a bit of cello and bit of clarinet classically and I've got a good feel for a load of other instruments like guitar and drums. I learnt some instruments at school and there were basically loads of reasons for it: the first one being that I loved it and another being that the more music lessons you did the more school lessons you got out of!

What talents (apart from musical ones) do you possess?
I'm very good at dreaming. I like painting and I like fiddling around and putting things together, I like making clothes. I'm quite good at cooking, apart from last night when my boyfriend came round for the first time and I cooked him something and messed it up - really badly!

What's your favourite film?
Seven - I saw it the other week - it's wicked, I really loved that.

You're 19 now, how did you celebrate your 18th birthday?
Oh it was awful! They're never good though are they? You build up for the whole of 17 years and think your 18th is going to be wicked and there's like all your friends there and all the people that you've known since you were a little kid. You think it will be really cool to see everybody. You organize this big party with everyone. I hired out a pub for £20 and I invited some DJ friends down who I knew when I was a bit younger and thought - oh they'll be really good by now. But they were AWFUL, they were so bad! All the people who turned up said 'So what you doing?' and half of them I just didn't get on with. I wanted to get p***** and I saw all my friends getting leery and having a good time, but I couldn't because I'd invited all these people so I had to talk to them all.

What makes you angry?
Lying - just not being honest, I hate that.

What are you three most precious objects?
My goggles (at the moment), my keyboard and teabags.