Institute of Contemporary Arts

DAY TEN: Imogen Heap and James Wolff

Date: 10 July 2007

I felt as though I travelled from my home to another home for the Imogen Heap/ James Wolff gig last night. I know I’ve been waxing on about intimacy and big names in small spaces recently, but I’m sorry, I’m going to have to again for this one. It can’t get much more cosy and intimate for an audience than standing in the home of the artist, and that is where we were yesterday, in Imogen's front room, (or should I say drawing room; this one was posh.) The set came complete with grand piano, rug, fake dog (warming himself by fake fire), armchair, lamp, grandfather clock; the works; all in a red and brown palette that gave off a warm inviting feeling. This was the kind of place you would want to find if it was a cold winters day outside. The fact that yesterday was in fact the 10th of July and the scene didn’t feel too incongruous is another matter, and too depressing to discuss now.

So instead onto Imogen. This talented and chatty lady chose to play songs from her first album instead of her newer electronically focused material last night, but the crowd seemed happy with this. Apparently, she hasn’t performed an acoustic set in London for years and the simplicity of the first album, centred wholly around piano and voice, sounded brilliant in the intimate setting. Also, because the album was written a while ago, Imogen was ready to laugh and talk about the experiences that inspired the songs, making this a personal performance with a capital P. I discovered all sorts of things that I couldn’t possibly fit into this blog, but to bring you a little closer into the picture I can tell you she sang about rotten music industry folk enough to make her scream in Rake It In; her long distance relationships with celibate Christian men in Whatever; infatuations with lycra-wearing music technology teachers in Come Here Boy and hungover sessions with Urban Species in Like It. Phew! Yes; we were hearing it all here.

And all within complex compositions that she made appear easy; as if her music is a natural extension of her emotions. She incorporated exasperated sighs into rests in a bar, tapped aggravated beats onto the top of the piano and finished emotive lyrical phrases with a passage on the piano that embellished the lines she had just sung. For example, in Candlelight, in the middle of the song, as if unable to express further the anguish described in the lyrics of the verse ‘This is all there is, I can see that now’, she flew off into a expressive, free style piano section. This started with crashing classical chords that moved into a more modern jazz sound, reminding me of the sexy bit in Pretty Woman where Richard Gere goes crazy at the grand piano in the lobby. (Ridiculous comparison I know, but you will have the idea now I’m sure). Imogen is an extremely talented pianist with a beautiful vocal tone, a quirky individualism reminiscent of Kate Bush, (her outfit and hair were exceptional last night too) and bags of charisma. I didn’t know about her until yesterday and if you are the same, then you should check her out. Her next album, album three, should be out by next April.

Another one to look up is of course the lovely James Wolff. Taking to the stage before Miss Imogen he was no less of a character complete with his own unique sound. Another young talent who seemed more mature than his years, James wore a smart pin stripe suit and sang into an old fashioned microphone while strumming on a classical guitar. He clearly isn’t interested with keeping ‘on trend’ and his no frills, smart demeanor signaled he wanted people to listen. And so we did. The theatre was fully absorbed in James’ ability to tell a story well. When listening to his music, you forget about the top 40 or the general fashion for all things indie pop rock, even other matters like world news or whether you fed the cat this morning. Instead you are taken off into a timeless place where stories of life are told with intellectual accuracy. The focus is definitely on the lyrics; James affirmed to me afterwards that it is precise communication of feeling that he aspires to, and with songs like To My Girl he’s definitely getting there. 

‘I’m the most faithful man anyone could meet
I’ve never stayed with anyone long enough to cheat’.

Influenced by several of the French masters including Jaques Brel and Edith Piaf James aspires  to have the same effect on his audience as they do him, ‘they moves me to tears, they get me, I’m down on the floor’.  I wasn’t on the floor last night, but I was certainly moved by When She’s Gone and The Spaces You Occupy.

In the future, we might be seeing James with a band. Perhaps with a crew of merry helpers to look after the music, this lyrical master will be able to concentrate on his message alone. Who knows? Maybe then he'll have people fainting, and not because of the heat.