Imogen Heap on Sexuality, AI, 20 Years of Speak for Yourself

When Imogen Heap set out to make her second album, Speak for Yourself , she was 27 and in over 10,000 pounds of credit-card debt. A classically trained prodigy who taught herself music production as a teen, she’d signed her first solo record deal at 18. A few years later, she joined forces with Björk producer Guy Sigsworth to form Frou-Frou , a dreamy electronic-pop duo that achieved moderate cultural prominence after their single “ Let Go ” appeared on the Garden State soundtrack. But their label dropped them after disappointing sales. Heap was left with no paycheck or institutional support. So she remortgaged her U.K. flat to fund the creation of her second solo album, Speak for Yourself , which she wrote, arranged, and recorded on her own. A rich tapestry of club beats, pop