Frou Frou
Biography
A collaboration between musician/vocalist Imogen Heap and producer/arranger/songwriter/musician Guy Sigsworth, Frou Frou manufactured an impressive brand of vocal-driven, electronic pop formerly the exclusive territory of Björk. The British duo had been collaborating for years without a record deal, and after what must have been countless hours matching Sigsworth's studio finesse and trickery with Heap's breathy yodel, the group's debut, Details, was completed for American release on MCA Records in 2002. Heap and Sigsworth first worked together on "Getting Scared" from Heap's 1998 solo record iMEGAPHONE. After completing the promotion for that splendid debut, Heap was ready to begin work on a new project and the two hooked up again as Sigsworth had privately been compiling music specifically for Heap while producing other projects. The first track conceived by the new, more formal (but as yet unnamed) pairing eventually turned into "Flicks" from Details, perhaps Frou Frou's most Björk-reminiscent number. Sigsworth -- who had in fact worked with Björk (Homogenic, Vespertine) and Madonna ("What It Feels Like for a Girl") among many other significant '90s pop and electronic artists -- grew up listening to eclectic female artists like Kate Bush, and along with Heap, developed an appreciation for classical music.
Far from being the kind of campy moniker one might expect from a more sugary pop outfit, the name Frou Frou was decided upon when Francophile Sigsworth noticed the phrase in a Baudelaire poem. Apparently, when uttered in French, the phrase is meant to approximate the swishing of skirts as they swirl about the legs of comely dancing women, as in a burlesque performance. Born composers, multi-instrumentalist Heap and studio/sound/ producer/musician Sigsworth are credited with many side appearances in support of other artists, especially Sigsworth, who was often used as a bit of a song-fixer. While those aren't bad jobs to have, artists of Frou Frou's caliber need to step out on their own, and while Heap worked as a solo artist for a majority of her career, Sigsworth had never been so strongly identified with any previous project. Instead of relegating the male producer/writer to a barely credited back seat, as often happens with a female-fronted team effort (for example, Glen Ballard's participation on Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill), Frou Frou was conceived and honestly portrayed as a true collaboration, making it significant for its marketing truthfulness if nothing else. Details has some relatively conventional pop moments like "It's Good to Be in Love," but more experimental cuts like "Only Got One" display a more definitive quality. The true accomplishment of Frou Frou -- which is in evidence on just about every track the "band" created -- is their uncanny ability to infuse highly manipulated, digitally crafted music with a warmth quite rare in pop and almost unheard of in music so technologically progressive. In the studio, Frou Frou achieved unique sounding beds for Heap's luscious voice via more-than-would-be-expected acoustic and natural instruments. These actual instrumental performances were recorded first, then heavily manipulated in an editing stage, giving the duo their own process and thus, their own sound. This approach made their music lush, dynamic, and more earthy when compared to typical electronic/dance and canned pop. ~ Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
Selected Discography

Details
2002
Frou Frou and Imogen Heap... I enjoy them both. I first heard "Let Go" back in DC, taking a break from studying the Indonesian language watching Zach Braff's "Garden State" when it was released in theaters; it was so well timed, so fitting... there's a lot of depth, beauty, and amazing sound wrapped up in each of their albums. As for the individual that said they didn't like Frou Frou? Learn to breath in, breath out, relax, enjoy life and you'll like 'em, you can't help it... ;)
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There is a Christian artist that sounds like Frou Frou, does anyone know her name?
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For a while i didn't know that imogen heap was the singer for frou frou and i just thought they sounded a lot a like...now i know.
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Interesting.
Both her first and last names are the same. Now let's discuss the pronunciatio n . Would it sound like too or zoo? Or Mightn't it sound a bit like cow or wow? Or How 'bout go or low? Or Another guess is law or paw? I give up. Can I just call her 'that girl with the hat'? |
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Love Imogen Heap. Wrote a little piece about her on my blog. Unique. Magical.
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this band has a very nice sound, i think. the singer is very talented.
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i once sat in a borders and read v for vendetta while listening to imogen heap and it ruined the novel and the music in a sepearate sense-they are forever entwined in my mind as one non negogiating unit.
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Her music is really incredible. My favorite song was on the Garden Track Soundtrack.
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I love Imogen and ALL of her work, she is amazing, Frou Frou is a wonderful pairing of two great minds for music.
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she has a pretty incredible voice... and her music is a sort of pop-electro style that i love. i have to say, until i read the description up there, i was a little confused about frou frou/imogen heap (aka why would she have a great solo career, then start to work with the guy who had previously produced her music... but not under her name). anyways, it's great.
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For a couple of years I only knew of one song by her and I listened to it all the time. Thanks for bringing more of their music to me, Pandora!
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she rocks and also has this sexy hotness about her - maybe it is her voice or those short skirts !
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she wrote a track for the narnia sound track "wunderkind' i thought it was good. i don't know much else about imogen heap. i didn't even know she was in the band frou frou until like a second ago.
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She can put emotion well into her songs. Very emotional. I love it, and the syle of music like hers.
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