Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek. Clusters!

I feel that I don't really have to explain why this song is great - it is easily is one of the most original pieces I have heard in the last decade, at least. The use of a vocoder to produce an eerie digital a cappella sound, the effects, the form and arc of the song; all these things are packaged together to create a uniquely brilliant piece, from start to finish.

At its core, the song revolves around four chords - I, V, vi, and IV in A Major. Remember how I described these chords as a "guaranteed hit single" in my analysis of Aerosmith's "Cryin'?" Here they are again, in the same key no less. There a couple slight discrepancies, and I had to adjust the timing, but here is a mashup of both songs to demonstrate:



So these are tried-and-true chords. You would think that people's ears would tire of this progression but it keeps coming back, song after song. I have have no artistic gripe with this - diatonic chords are the foundation of Western music - but it is nice when musicians find new and interesting things to do with them.

So besides the obvious digital effects, what makes Imogen Heap's treatment so special? Mostly it is the thick harmonies. She uses a mix of simple triads and very close cluster voicings. Some of these chords happen by accident; one note will carry, by delay or reverb, into the next chord. Other times she is simply playing a big fat chord on the keyboard. Resisting the urge to transcribe and dissect every chord in the song, I'll do a play-by-play of some of my favorite moments.

00:00 The opening chords set the tone of the song - futuristic sounding major chords, almost metallic.
00:05 The word "what" has an added 9, making a very crunchy disonnance - apparently this is a dystopian future.
00:07 The word "hell", a D Major chord, has a B and an E in it, making it a 6/9 chord - pretty unusual already...
00:11 This chord is an accident, but I love it. The word "on" is an E chord, but the "A" from the word "go" carries into it by delay, so it has both the major 3rd and the suspension at once. Great sound.
00:36-1:11 This whole stanza has fantastic chord voicings throughout. Put on some good headphones and listen to what she does with the word "heavy."
1:12 "Hide and Seek" - this is one of the best moments of the song, and the first part that really wowed me. The D# in the V chord is so unexpected and vivid:

1:30 She does something similar on the second pass, this time swooping up to a half-diminished D# chord on the word "those."

1:40 On "they were" she uses almost every note in the scale, tightly clustered, making some kind of DMaj13 chord.

2:16 On "still life" she does the same thing, but thicker and louder, and with more effects. Great moment.

2:20 Interesting that she does not use the D# as she does in the first pass. (1:12, transcribed above)

2:36 This might be the best moment of the song. It gives me chills every time. I love the way she pulls the rest of the voices out and lets that high "B" sit by itself. It sounds like you're listening to the song underwater.

2:46 More thick, saturated IV chord here. I especially like how she clashes the C# right against the D in the melody on "were." Sounds like things are about to get real.

2:52 "Mmm, what you say?" This is the most famous part. The chords are less dense, the rhythm less rubato, but it is just a reworking of the original four chords. Instead of I, V, vi, IV she uses IV, I, vi, V.

3:23 From here to the end it goes back to the original four chords, with more dense clusters and interesting inversions.

As much as I would like to analyze every note and digital effect in this song, what really makes it great is the way it still gives me goosebumps, years and hundreds of listens later. I don't think there's one note I would change.