This week I’ve received singles from two quite different music acts that could easily be linked by the slight ambient leaning in their music. So I decided to pit Opposite Worlds, and Imogen Heap up against each other to see who would win the battle of the sexes. Opposite Worlds head up the battle for the boys with their dance/club track, while Imogen Heap does it for the girls with a song that has a variety of influences. Let battle commence:

Opposite Worlds: Feel
Out Now

London based duo Opposite Worlds have recently released new single ‘Feel’, which they not only hope will explode onto the dance/club scene, but will help raise awareness of climate change and other environmental issues. They produced a limited number of copies of the single using various recycled materials, and eco-friendly production methods. Raising awareness, and taking steps to reduce their Carbon Footprint, can only be saluted as a good thing, but how will the song go down I wonder?

‘Feel’ is a smooth, well produced number predominately aimed at the dance/club markets. It’s quite an ambient song, so whilst I felt it would be good to sit and listen too, I don’t think it would get me out of my chair and dancing. The beats and distorted vocal effects are current, though not as powerful as I expected, and it just needs something a little bit extra to have full impact on the listener. Despite all that, I did get more into the song after turning up the volume and giving it a few more listens. There’s potential and passion there, it just needs unleashing a little bit more. To listen to the track yourself, or for more information on the group, visit www.oppositeworlds.com

Imogen Heap
‘First Train Home’
Available From October 26th

Imogen Heap’s press material, is probably one of the most interesting things I’ve read in a while, made all the more impressive by details of her fan base, and the effort she puts into maintaining a healthy fan/artist relationship. She is a singer-songwriter who can boast 300,000 followers on Twitter, 350,000 fans on Myspace, and over 7 million views on youtube.com. Great stats, but I guess the question is, will I be adding to them in the future? Only one way to find out, and that’s to check out her current single ‘First Train Home’.

It didn’t take long for me to discover, that this single is something just a little bit different. The ambient, swirling vocals at times veered towards the ethereal pop that made Enya famous, whilst at other times I was hearing hints of indie/pop a la Sugababes. It’s an interesting fusion of styles which work well together. There’s a fusion of styles in the music too, again veering towards indie/pop, but also taking influences from world music. In terms of critique, I did find it a while for the melodies to really kick in and start soaring through the speakers, and the lyrics in the chorus were a little repetitive too. All in all I’d say I’m not sure I would buy the single, but there’s something about Imogen Heap and her music, that would make me want to find out more. Lucky really since she has an album out on August 24th.
‘First Train Home’ is available now from I-Tunes, with the new album ‘Ellipse’ following on August 24th. Stay tuned for some Imogen Heap facts and figures too, right here on music.co.uk. In the meantime, who’s the winner of my girl’s versus boy’s ambient song battle? I have to say this time, for pure variety/fusion of sounds it has to go to Imogen Heap. But that’s just my opinion, why not check out both acts and decide for yourself?