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* Photo: Timothy Allen/Eyevine/Zuma * In The O.C.'s indie-music tastemaking heyday, creator Josh Schwartz and music supervisor Alex Patsavas plucked a tune from British artist Imogen Heap for the second season finale. "Hide and Seek," a moody electronic slow jam, became a runaway hit among the show's tween fans. Meanwhile, for seasoned music nerds, the former Frou Frou frontwoman's breakout track was a revelation in recording. The self-taught composer used voice-modulation software to layer her vocals, creating a haunting a capella meditation on life and death that sounds like Wendy Carlos meets the Cocteau Twins. The album, Speak for Yourself, and her work on the first Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack earned Heap two Grammy nominations.
Photo: Jeremy CowartFour years later, the 31-year-old is releasing her third album, Ellipse. Recorded in London at her childhood home, the 13-track collection was more than a year in the making. Heap holed up in front of her computer, writing, recording, producing, and soliciting the opinions of her Twitter followers and vlog devotees whenever she got songwriter's block. She crowdsourced advice on album art and even posted an early version of the song "Tidal" so fans could vote for their favorite chorus.
The outcome of that online collaboration is her densest, richest work yet. "My songs have a lot going on in them—they're packed with sounds," Heap says. "When I have only three or four minutes to capture something, I guess I can't stand the idea of any bar going unloved." Her audiophile following is bound to feel the same way.
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