Electropop act Imogen Heap embraces AI as “next stage of evolution” in music

Pop-electronica musician Imogen Heap recently opened up about her creative journey, upcoming projects, and controversial embrace of AI technology in a wide-ranging Q&A with The Guardian. The conversation reveals an artist who has consistently pushed boundaries—from remortgaging her flat to fund her breakthrough album to now advocating for AI as “the next stage of evolution” in music creation.

What you should know: Heap’s 2005 album “Speak For Yourself” was entirely self-funded after a disappointing major label experience, and her song “Hide and Seek” has found new life on TikTok two decades later.

• She remortgaged her £120,000 Waterloo flat when it increased in value by £100,000 to finance the album after Island Records wouldn’t lend her money following Frou Frou’s commercial failure.
• “If only we could have had TikTok and all this free promotion 20 years ago,” she reflected, though she wouldn’t change her path since early fame might have led to different life choices.
• After 25 years, she just received her first royalties from Frou Frou following the recent TikTok attention.

Personal revelations: Recent ADHD and autism diagnoses have helped Heap understand her lifelong tendency to “shake it up and do new things.”

• She describes being “socially awkward” and rebellious at boarding school, eventually getting expelled for telling the matron to “F-off.”
• Her experimental approach extends to “The Listening Chair,” an autobiographical song that updates every seven years, incorporating audience feedback about songs they feel need to be written.
• She created “The Happy Song” for baby milk company Cow & Gate by working with scientists, psychologists, and 50 babies to develop music that reliably cheers up infants.

The AI controversy: Heap remains committed to integrating artificial intelligence into her live performances despite fan concerns.

• “When people think of AI they maybe think of this conscious brain making all the music while I’m sitting there being a puppet. I see it as a collaboration,” she explained.
• Her vision involves AI identifying natural rhythms and keys from environmental sounds during performances, giving her “more time to be human.”
• “At the moment, with what’s going on in the States and the Middle East, we’re making such a horrendous job of existing, so maybe AI is like the next stage of evolution to help us make sense of everything.”

What’s next: After 11 years since her last proper album, Heap is shifting toward real-time music creation and away from traditional song structures.

• She’s completed work on Harry Potter-themed music and a climate change podcast soundtrack, but finds herself “bored of the song structure.”
• “I’ve spent thousands of hours caged up in the studio and I’ve missed a lot of life. There will be a record shortly which will be the final piece of that old world but I’m more excited about creating music in real time.”
• The 20th anniversary remastered vinyl reissue of “Speak For Yourself” releases October 17 on Megaphonic Records.

Notable collaborations: Her early encounter with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck came through a drunken mishap at a songwriting camp in France when she was 19.

• “I was sitting outside playing guitar very badly to myself and Jeff said: ‘Let me show you some shapes.’ I said: ‘Wow, you’re good!'” she recalled, admitting she had no idea who he was at the time.
• She also worked with Taylor Swift on the closing track “Clean” from the 1989 album, noting that Swift, like herself, “appreciates the reactions of strangers.”