Imogen Heap has played music from an early age, and is classically trained in many instruments, including the piano (her first instrument), cello and clarinet. She later taught herself to play the guitar, drums, and the array mbira. She had begun to write songs by the time of her thirteenth birthday. Her mother, an art therapist, and her father, a construction rock retailer, separated when Heap was twelve. Heap went on to study at the BRIT School of Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon, Surrey. After being introduced to Nik Kershaw by his manager Mickey Modern, Imogen recorded four demos with Nik which Mickey took to Rondor Music. Consequently, a few months later she signed her first record contract at the age of 18 to independent record label Almo Sounds. Mickey Modern formed Modernwood Management with Mark Wood and they managed Imogen over the next ten years.

Heap's debut album, i Megaphone (an anagram of "Imogen Heap") was released in 1998 internationally via Almo Sounds, and garnered critical acclaim, comparing the angst-filled tracks to work by artists such as Pj Harvey Kate Bushand Annie Lennox The album was a mixture of self-penned, self-produced tracks, alongside tracks co-written with, and produced by established producers such as David Kahne, Dave Stewart and Guy Sigsworth. Three singles were commercially released in limited quantities in the UK; "Getting Scared", "Shine" and "Come Here Boy". "Oh Me, Oh My" was also sent to US radio stations in place of "Shine". After receiving more commercial success with her work with Guy Sigsworth as the duo Frou Frou and her second solo album, Speak for Yourself, Heap was able to secure the re-release of i Megaphone. It was re-released on November 14, 2006.

Heap kept in contact with Guy Sigsworth, who had co-written and produced "Getting Scared" from i Megaphone. The initial idea was that Sigsworth would put together an album, featuring tracks written and produced by him alongside a singer, songwriter, poet or rapper, to be released under the name Frou Frou. Their first official release as Frou Frou was a remix of "Airplane" (renamed "Aeroplane") - a track they had written together at the time of "Getting Scared", which was used as a B-side on the "Shine" single and on the Japanese re-release of i Megaphone.

In August 2002, they released the Details album and singles "Breathe In", "It's Good To Be In Love", and "Must Be Dreaming". The album - a full collaboration between the duo, with Heap giving vocals to tracks they had written and produced together - was critically acclaimed, but did not enjoy the commercial success that had been hoping for.

Due to bad experiences with record labels in the past, Heap made a decision to put out an album on her own in the UK, starting her own record company, titled Megaphonic Records. The album, titled Speak for Yourself - as Heap had produced, written and done 'everything in between' on the record, including designing the artwork - is described by Heap as "more Madonna than Guns N' Roses more Donnie Darko than Dirty Dancing... left of center, electronically sprinkled magic dust over orchestral strings, harps and things, with great lyrics". It was released in the UK on July 18, 2005 on CD and iTunes UK, where it entered the top 10 chart.

On December 7, 2006, Heap received two Grammy nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, one for Best New Artist and the other for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media for "Can't Take It In".