Astounded is the best description of my response to the unique singer songstress who propelled herself high into my 'most admired' list last night. Steve and I finally enjoyed the fruition of his Birthday present (two tickets to see Imogen Heap at the Brighton Komedia) and for once an artist trully exceeded my expectation.
She was as personable and in control as a TV Chef taking you through her musical ingredients. Her mixture of live instrumentation and clever computor trickery left my jaw dangling. Her head thrown back, voice ringing clear and everything about her eccentric experience communicating life and passion.
An album I assumed would be entirely unperformable live was an incredible journey of sound, light and story telling. As she sang the song she wrote for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, crooning "It couldn't be more beautiful, I can't take it in", tears welled in my eyes. She was absolutely right. All the passion, awe and depth of my desire for Jesus was encapsulated in two lines.
For a sample of her music (keep an open mind) click the two files here...
For something up tempo... Download 01_headlock.m4a
For something stripped back... Download 05_hide_and_seek.m4a