I don’t remember anymore how I came across this video, but I remember the night that I did discover it, I watched it about 50 times in a row. If you know me, you know that I just about never listen to the same song even twice in a row unless I have a really good reason, like I’m trying to learn a guitar part or something like that. Obviously, I knew that this sort of thing was possible, what with samplers and looping pedals and all that, but Imogen Heap has such an incredible voice and talent when it comes to crafting her sound that watching this video was like the perfect confluence of awesomeness. I immediately read up all I could about her work and got a hold of her albums, of which Speak For Yourself is one that has found its way into my regular rotation.

My friend Jake, a few months ago, summed up this video thusly:

I was promised the future. By that I mean, yes, it went almost without question (statistically) that I would still be alive in 2009. The future was something more; something with a recognizable taste. As a child I knew without question that as I grew up, even more so could the world I may inherit. I mean something more than just years when I say the future.

Superman, The Jetsons, James Kirk and a black and white TV told me things, beautiful things. Adventure and possibility beyond imagination. Perfect worldwide peace without disease or poverty. Ubiquitous, effortless flight. Probably, a black president with a stage presence like Morgan Freeman. Above all, I expected to see the limitless reach of human exploration and expression. I want to talk about that last point for a second.

Imogen Heap confirms for me that the future has not only already arrived, but has delivered fully on one promise. Here we see a young woman controlling a fantastic array of electronic equipment. Any single component, if presented to NASA’s best engineers in 1969, would have seemed impossibly sophisticated. She, alone on stage, uses this future artifact not to explore space or design pharmaceuticals, but to project without restraint her imagination onto our consciousness.

I just discovered while writing this/watching that video another 2-3 times that she’s got a new album coming out 2 weeks from now. You can bet I’ll be getting it.