A SWIK Connection

I had planned to post my SWIK Summer Tours list this week, but last Tuesday I went to see Imogen Heap at the Hammerstein Ballroom and decided she needed her own post. I wrote about Heap for the SWIKs I Missed post in December, but she deserves a bit more space here. Not only does Heap remind me of Annie Lennox, but she is probably the Annie Lennox of the 21st century. Or maybe the Kate Bush of the 21st century? Yet Heap is uniquely herself and her talent is only more evident in her live show. Dare I admit? She blew me away.




Although in her early 30‘s, Heap is truly a child of the internet. She uses social media to connect with her fans and create an interactive show. It begins with the set list. Fans vote for the songs they want to hear at the show (UK readers you can vote now for the next leg of her tour). From what I understand she even pinpoints the set list for each city, but she doesn’t stop there. For her song “Earth,” a beautiful multi-layered vocal piece, rather than bring a choir or additional singers, she invites a fan sing with her on stage.  Not just anyone though. Fans send audition videos on YouTube and she selects someone to sing with her in each city on her tour. Jessie Nelson, who joined her last week in NYC, was amazing.  Later in her set, Heap composed a song on stage. She asked the audience for input (i.e. what key? how fast?) then she sat at the piano and went back and forth across the stage adding a few other electronic elements to create something entirely new, live. She mixes the song and eventually posts it on her site. She charges $1 to download and the money goes to a local charity that fans had proposed before the tour.  (For this NYC show it was the Lower East Side Ecology Center.) The photo for the download is even selected via the photo sharing site Flickr from photos fans take at the show that night.



It may all seem a bit gimmicky, but it was extremely well done and only accented her talent. Heap writes, performs and produces all of her music. She won a Grammy this year for Best Engineered Album, Non Classical. It may sound geeky, but there are few female recording engineers so the fact the she creates the entire album from start to finish is impressive. Live, she is more of a conductor on stage, playing her own instruments and directing band members. For the audience, she’s a bit like a friendly music teacher, explaining how she’s creating a sound or coaching us through rounds for a sing-along to “Just for Now.” She also records sounds while performing then adds them to a loop for an even fuller effect. Yes, it’s all very electronic but this woman can rock out as well. Whether she’s pulling out the ‘keytar’ and strapping it around her body or adding some drums to another track. While her music generally is on the more ethereal side, the woman can get heavy when she wants to and she did on several tunes.



I was also impressed that she came out on stage and introduced her two opening bands, Geese and Ben Christophers, explaining a bit about who they are and why she likes them. They all then joined her set, becoming part of her band. But Heap sealed the deal for me when she said that she didn’t do encores. She told the audience she wasn't coming back and that she would play straight through. I have to agree with her. What’s the point of running off the stage when everyone knows you’ll be back to do those final hits? She played for nearly two hours. She gave it her all and the audience knew it. My faithful concert companion, Michelle, and I certainly knew it. Standing for two hours in heels or even flip-flops becomes uncomfortable at a certain point. Despite a relatively large venue, the show was intimate. Heap closed with her hit “Hide and Seek” from her album Speak for Yourself and walked off the stage while the audience harmonized with her.

Unfortunately, Heap covered only one song from her former band Frou Frou, which was where I first heard her. The song “Let Go” is on the soundtrack to Garden State. A great indie film, starring Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, which had an even better soundtrack. I recently pulled out Frou Frou’s album Details and can’t stop listening to it.



Heap is on tour for the rest of the summer. If you have the opportunity to see her live, don’t miss it. Until then, pick up her latest album Ellipse. You should probably get Speak for Yourself too. While her sound is 80’s electronic, she creates something new and unique. I also believe that she is genuine. Something rare in the music industry these days. Heap understands the power of connecting with her fans and being herself. Some have said that she is bringing music back to its roots, meaning the relationship between musician and fan. She’s a regular on Twitter, but not with posts about what she’s eaten for breakfast. She involves fans in her music-making process, collecting input from them. She selected the collaborators for the artwork on Ellipse from photos submitted by fans via Flickr. The examples go on and on. Others have said that Heap’s spending far too much time on marketing. I disagree. She’s connecting. Yes, it takes effort. If you believe in what you’re doing and your music, why wouldn’t you take the time? It only makes sense then to further that connection and bring it to the live performance, inviting fans to perform and creating music with the audience. Live is the true test. After all the Tweets and videoblogs are posted, the strongest bond between a fan and a musician forms at a live show. Heap delivers. She connects. And we can be grateful that musicians like her are still out there. As I plan my summer concert schedule, I only hope that it holds many more inspiring connections.