Frou Frou
Details
On Sale Now
For $11.28

She is the voice. A rare voice that enchants the heart, engages the mind, transports the soul. It's a voice that can soar breathily to celestial bliss or drops into the lower register to epitomize a different mood; gracefully articulate inventive lyrics, then slip into sighs and syllables that are a language of their own. She is Imogen Heap-24 years old, 6 feet tall-and magic comes out of her mouth.

He is the sound. A producer and songwriter at the forefront of today's most innovative electronic music. He's worked extensively with Seal and Bjork. He's also the man behind Madonna's "What It Feels Like for a Girl." He is Guy Sigsworth, a sorcerer of sonics.

Together, as Frou Frou, both Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth have met their match-in each other. For Details, the London-based duo's debut CD, their combined talents have created some truly incredible songs. Real songs, with melody and meaning, not mere sweet diva delivery over stream-of-consciousness noise. "These are songs we've spent years putting everything into," says Imogen of the fruits of Frou Frou's labors.

And what succulent fruits they are: The multi-tiered strings and swathed vocals of lead-off track "Let Go." The gently buoyant rhythms of first single "Breath In." Giddy joyrides like "It's Good to Be in Love"; positive tunefulness with edgy undercurrents in "Shh"; dreamy melodrama rolling in the thunderheads and tolling in the bells of "Psychobabble." Wherever you turn, something unique-and uniquely pleasurable-comes out to play.

The secret to Frou Frou's songcraft lies in the fact that this partnership is not simply a matter of singer-meets-soundscaper. "I never even thought my voice was all that-I didn't take it seriously or think I'd do anything with it," admits Imogen, who'd first set her sights on a career as a contemporary classical composer. "I started out playing piano, then took other instruments so I'd have a broad range of knowledge, and studied composition and arranging. I was really into being like Stockhausen."

Upon leaving her sheltered life in Essex, England, for boarding school, a teenaged Imogen discovered her voice as venting vehicle. "I grew up in the country and all I did was play piano-I knew nothing about popular culture," she says. "Suddenly there was sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, but I was kind of an outcast, and since for the first time in my life I had a lot to say but no one to talk to I began singing my own songs."

Ultimately, Imogen's newfound pop side took precedence, and while demoing for a solo album, she happened to catch Guy at a London club. "He had his own band at the time, and what they were doing was so exciting, I thought, 'Hmm, I'd like to get a bit of that into my music.'" The track they did together, "Getting Scared," became the first single off Imogen's 1998 debut I Megaphone. The two continued to be drawn to one another's work, until "One day Guy rang me up out of the blue and said, 'Let's go into the studio,'" says Imogen. "We weren't sure how far to take it, but more and more it made sense," adds Guy. "Something really special was happening."

One thing Guy found so special was the chance to unleash his inner lyricist. "I'm 'supposed' to be the person who comes up with sounds, but I loved the idea of a real collaboration," he says. He also reveled in the range and elasticity of Imogen's vocal instrument, which allowed them to reach into uncharted songwriting territory. "I'm such a snob about voices, and Immi's is not only beautiful and completely original, she can do a lot with it," Guy explains. "That let us stretch so much melodically and have a very distinctive imprint."

Not that equality was easy. "Initially it was very difficult for me-you can get away with a lot more fat as a solo artist," says Imogen of the collaborative process, which extended to production. "Guy pushed me so much, not just lyrically and vocally but about recording, so that II was able to really get around the studio and co-produce. We both had to agree on everything; we tore each other's hair out at times."

Soon enough their goals became clear, the desire to achieve them priming the team for the challenge. They chose a timeless-meets-technology approach, recording real instruments, then manipulating and layering them on computer, to lend a humanity and organic warmth often lacking in electronic music. Lyrically, they elected to revolve around love-which Imogen calls "the best subject in the world"-yet sought to explore its dimensions in a way that reaches out each individual listener. "We want our songs to feel personal, like one-on-one communication," says Guy.

Inspiration came from a mingling of personal experience and open-hearted sensitivity to universal consciousness. The spark that ignited "It's Good to Be in Love," for instance, was a chance encounter between Guy and an old friend. "She looked great," he recalls, "so I was asking: 'New diet? Exercise?' She said, 'No, no-I'm in love!'" On the other hand "Breathe In" tackles a difficult aspect of love indicative to our times: communication conflicts. "With so much at our disposal these days-fax, email, phone, mobiles-sometimes we choose the one that's least likely to make actual contact!" Guy points out. "In other words, you often call someone hoping you'll get their answerphone because it's easier that way."

Imogen's vocal dexterity is ideally suited to such complex emotion, and on Details, Frou Frou gave it the freedom to do those things it does. "I like playing around with interesting words in my mouth and rhyming in unusual ways, not always within the confines of a stanza," she explains. "Plus my breath is an integral part of the way I sing. When you breathe in someone's ear, it makes them feel a certain way; when you sigh it evokes something else. And then there's that chanting that I do-I don't know where it comes from, but I do know those tones can express what words cannot."

An extraordinary singer who acknowledged her voice almost as an afterthought. A sound specialist with a profound feeling for lyrics. A British partnership with a French name. Role swappers and rule breakers. Why try to deconstruct the contradictions when Frou Frou celebrates them? Voice, sound, songs. Emotional initimacy, unparalleled pleasure. That is Frou Frou-and that's all you need to know.

Copyright © 2009 ModernRock.com All Rights Reserved