Frou Frou

A partnership formed by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Imogen Heap alongside producer, songwriter, and musician Guy Sigsworth, Frou Frou crafts an unconventional strain of vocal-centric electronic pop that occupies territory also inhabited by frequent Sigsworth associate Björk. Their sole complete album, Details, appeared in 2002. Shortly before entering hiatus, the group recorded a version of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” for the soundtrack of the 2004 hit film Shrek 2. Following a 2019 reunion during a Heap tour, they issued the EP Off Cuts, consisting of previously unreleased demos, on Megaphonic Records in June 2022 to mark the twentieth anniversary of Details. A year afterward the EP reached number 19 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.

The pair first connected in 1996 after a teenage Heap’s demo reached Sigsworth, prompting him to arrange a meeting. Heap subsequently contributed backing vocals to his band Acacia, and Sigsworth co-wrote and produced the track “Getting Scared” for her 1998 debut album iMEGAPHONE. During the same period Sigsworth worked with artists including Björk and Madonna.

Frou Frou operated as a committed duo beginning in 2001, when Sigsworth was developing a solo project intended to feature assorted guests such as rappers and poets in addition to Heap. Once he recorded material with her, he abandoned the guest roster and focused exclusively on the vocalist. Blending experimental and adult pop with elements of trip hop and rock, their debut album Details was finished for release on MCA Records in the United States and Island Records in the United Kingdom and Europe in June 2002. In America the record yielded two modest dance successes, “Breathe In” and “Must Be Dreamin,” each reaching the Top 30 of Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart; in Britain “Breathe In” entered the Top 50.

Music supervisor Chris Douridas became an admirer and invited the duo to reinterpret Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” for the Shrek 2 soundtrack in 2004. Their song “Let Go” gained further listeners that year after Zach Braff placed it on the soundtrack to his film Garden State. Despite this activity, Frou Frou parted ways, allowing Heap to resume her solo work while Sigsworth continued behind-the-scenes collaborations with high-profile acts such as Britney Spears, Josh Groban, and Alanis Morissette.

The duo reconvened briefly in April 2019 for the North American portion of Imogen Heap’s Mycelia World Tour. During that month they released “Guitar Song,” which later appeared on the Off Cuts EP of unreleased demos issued by Megaphonic Records in June 2022 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Details.