For those of you that may not have seen these vlogs or the “Making of Ellipse” DVD, these video blogs give great insight into the life & times of Imogen during the creation of her third solo release “Ellipse”. Each vlog is around 10 minutes long, and some include clips of songs in their early stages. They’re a really interesting watch, if you have the time, and make listening to Ellipse that much more fulfilling.
cmilette asked: what does the little girl say in the beginning of "xizi she knows" in chinese? sounds like syllables, vowels maybe?
It’s a student at a Hangzhou primary school Imogen visited counting to eight in Mandarin Chinese! “Yi, er, san, soo, woo, lio, chi, bah.” Imogen recorded the girl counting off for the class’s daily eye exercises.

jaycechandler asked: Are her Heapsongs available on iTunes? Also, is she compiling these Heapsongs into one album?
Only the first three Heapsongs (Lifeline, Propellor Seeds, & Minds Without Fear) are currently on iTunes. Imogen hasn’t indicated whether “Xizi She Knows” or “Neglected Space” will ever be available for purchase on iTunes.
Yep! When all twelve songs have been finished, Imogen will release a physical album containing all of the previously released Heapsongs.
aushinn asked: I think I saw a while ago that she had a song called Entangled or Entanglement or something? I remember seeing a tweet saying that this album would be finished sooner than she thought. Have you heard anything about this?
She does have some tweets with that the tag/word “Entanglement” in them as shown here, but I’ve personally heard nothing about the song. It looks like it was supposed to be released before “Minds Without Fear” as detailed in the first tweet on that page, “you’ll have 6 songs by end of the year If you get all released. Lifeline, propeller seeds, entanglement, India track + 2 more”. This is probably just a song that she’s been working on slowly over the span of the whole project, or has simply abandoned.
She did say at one point that she’d be half-way done with the album recently after finishing this song, but she has only officially released 5 songs as of yet. So maybe it’s kind of a surprise song! At least I’m hoping so.
All of the Heapsongs as of yet.
A lovely photo of Immi taken from the “Xizi She Knows” 3DiCD photo slideshow included in the “Xizi She Knows” bundle! The 3DiCD included in the bundle has tons of other photos of Hangzhou & Heap’s adventures.
Anonymous asked: Explain to us what this new Xizi stuf is Immi is working on! I'm curious!
A few months ago, Imogen was offered an artist-in-residency in Hangzhou, China. Being the adventuresome traveler she is, she accepted the offer and went to Hangzhou for a few weeks. She wanted to make a song out of the trip, but didn’t want to end up in the studio all day. So she created the HeapSong5 project based around the idea of going out on one day (her birthday!) and recording twenty four happenings throughout the city of Hangzhou (one for each hour of the day) and using the sounds to make a song! Amazing, huh? She explains all the sounds in the “Xizi’s Bits” mp3 that’s in the bundle. I may upload it in a week or so, just for those of you who didn’t buy the bundle (which you all should!) By the way, “Xizi” (pronounced “shee-soo”) is the name of a lake in Hangzhou as detailed in the audio blog Imogen made here.
Imogen has detailed in blogs that she was offered to make Hangzhou an annual trip, but said it was improbable seeing her busy schedule. She did say that she definitely felt she wasn’t done in Hangzhou, and would return. She has an idea for a film project that goes along with “Xizi She Knows” in that she wants to document the city. She wants to take footage of the city’s growth over five years, and eventually release a film showing how the city essentially is springing up from the ground at an amazing speed. She said she’d even write a score for the movie that the Hangzhou Orchestra would play!
I really recommend reading her blog and buying the Xizi bundle to hear the Bits mp3 to get an even more in-depth look at Hangzhou & Xizi!
Lyrics to Heapsong5, “Xizi She Knows”
Xizi She Knows
Verse 1
We come to your shores over misty millennia
From hustlers to emperors, for power and pleasure.
We carve through the cars, dance among the daily news
Cue in the grande ballablie
Even your ten ton tone rings home for Marco PoloChorus 1
Slow down
From a thread of sky
To the warp and weft of your being
You’re beautiful graceful, like no other, pretty dammed good as you areFriend of mine, in a terrible hurry for change
As you Unravel your marvels, from evergreen gardens, remember we loved you this wayVerse 2
To treasure it all, scroll out to see
In gold, fire, wood, clay and water
Your structure and flow, adagio to allegro
With leaves to the tide
In full moon, plum blossom, We salute to youChorus 2
Slow down
From a thread of sky
To the warp and weft of your being
Dynamic and playful, opened my eyes yeah you’re pretty dammed great as you areFriend of mine, could you go for progression not pace
Unravel your marvels but don’t lose them all on the wayMiddle Eight
MantoshanChorus 3
Slow down
From a thread of sky
To the warp and weft of your being
You’re beautiful graceful, like no other, pretty dammed good as you areFriend of mine, you’re in a terrible hurry to change
Unravel your marvels, from evergreen gardens, remember we loved you this wayWoah, to the warp and weft of your being
You’re beautiful graceful, like no other, p p p pretty dammed good as you areXizi she knows that once it’s gone then it’s gone!
(via effyeahimogenheap)
Imogen Heap - Xizi She Knows
Flawless as usual, Immi. Goosebumps forever! Can’t wait to see what’s next in 3 months! ♥
And yes, I did pay for this song. You should too!
Imogen Heap - Xizi She Knows (Music Video)
Anonymous asked: where did u find the lyrics to Xizi She Knows???
Right on Imogen Heap’s Tumblr! Here’s the post.
A cute Chinese newscast featuring Imogen. You have to skip around a bit because most of it is in Chinese, but there are some parts where Imogen talks about her time in Hangzhou, and her thoughts on China. She makes her first appearance around :20, followed by clips of her music, and then is present in the rest of the video from around 2:45 and on.

