Imogen Heap seems set to become a household name. She has already seen tracks included in The O.C., a Cadbury's advert and, as part of Frou Frou, Shrek 2 and the lovely Garden State. When considered in conjunction with a very popular My Space profile it would appear that Imogen has got some hefty marketing behind her.
Sadly they seem to have missed their biggest trick, following its use during pivotal moments in the second series of the O.C. demand for previous single 'Hide and Seek' was incredibly high. The matter was further helped by some serious backing by Radio 1. For some reason the single did not get a release beyond iTunes for some time and to make matters worse the album, Speak for Yourself, was virtually impossible to get hold of in the normal retail chains. Virgin Megastore and HMV seemed to look bemused when they were asked about it.
'Goodnight and Go' is fairly typical of Imogen Heap or Frou Frou, if you don't know what that means then BlackPlastic would suggest some slightly experimental electronic production used to create very accesible, pop-sounding music. Skipping beats (actually the first two words of the song) and clicks combine with warm, mildly ethereal sounds to create a nice atmosphere while Heap sings about the apple of her eye.
It is difficult to describe what makes Imogen Heap's work so much more enjoyable than some of her contemporaries, but she just seems to be much more willing to mess with things. 'Goodnight and Go' sounds like Beth Orton getting freaky with BT whilst falling out of a plane very slowly.
Heap's marketing obviously bears no reflection on her music, but BlackPlastic finds it amazing that record labels seem to continuously stumble when it comes to making those artists with potentially huge commercial appeal crossover. Someone like Imogen Heap or Gemma Hayes could easily find themselves on coffee table accross the country next to Dido CDs, whilst still actually being good, yet the record labels appear to not care, preferring to pump budget into the next X-Factor winner that's bound to flop after one album.
To purchase 'Goodnight and Go' on Amazon when it is released on 8 May click here.
To purchase 'Goodnight and Go' on iTunes click below:
