Imogen Heap. It's name that has recently been at the lips of many critics, actors, and music lovers. Though few would recognize the unconebtional British beauty, most are well-aquianted with her craft. Heap's work has beautified the Garden State score, graced The Last Kiss sountrack, charmed the Chronicles of Narnia theme song, nursed The O.C. fans' broken hearts, and expanded its own networkvia a recent Verizon Wireless campaign

She made a name for herself in 2002 when she joined renowned producer Guy Sigsworth and formed Frou Frou. Since, she has been summoned back t the land of independence and so far, it's working out to her benefit. her latest endeavor, Speak for Yourself, which she wrote and produced, is gaining an eclectic fan base.

Whether augmented by a synthesizer or flawlessly naked, Heap's voice soars and spins. When performing, she plays strings, percussion, and laptop-introducing each of these with pride. I met up with this tall and lanky, yet fairy-like phenomenon after seeing her wow the crowd at the Coachella Valley Music Festival, one of the largest indie festivals in the United States. During our two-day encounter, I was delighted by her wit and charm. I also remain unflappably convinced that she just may be the only person who can sing about trains and sewing machines so magically.

RISEN Magazine: Did you expect the success?

Imogen Heap: I didn't know what to expect. I had hoped that the record would do just as well as Frou Frou, if not better. But you can never predict things like The O.C., Chronicles of Narnia, all these different things that I've had. The one thing that makes it happen is something that you've never expected. I would never have expected that "Hide and Seek" would be used in a totally teen TV show and that it would have such an impact.

RM: Are you trained musically or vocally?

IH: I learned to play the piano. I did all my grades and then I learned the cello and clarinet as well. I learned theory. I just wanted to learn anything to do with music, so I studied really hard. That's the only subject that I had any interest in. It was difficult in school actually because the teachers were quite odd. I went to boarding school and the teachers were a bit freaky.

They had this programming suite at the boarding school and I started getting interested in that at the age of 12. They weren't as common as they are today and as user-friendly. The manual I had to use was about this big [holds fingers two inches apart]. I think in five years' time, everyone who wants to be a musician or singer can make their own demos. They are probably already learning how to do it with Garage Band on their laptop. I'm really excited about the future for independent artists.

RM: Did you always want to be a musician?

IH: I did always want to be a musician, but I didn't think I'd end up singing for a living. I always thought of myself as conducting orchestras and writing for orchestras while traveling around the world. That's where my strengths were—arranging. And I'd write songs about my friends. It wasn't an "I want to be Madonna" type of thing.

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