began posting YouTube video blogs

Starting in February 2007, Heap began posting YouTube video blogs at the request of a fan to document the making of Ellipse , her third studio album, eventually making a total of 40. She recorded the album in the basement of her childhood home, using sounds from around the house as instruments, while its name was inspired by the house’s elliptical shape. Its lead single ” First Train Home ” premiered on Stereogum and was released to adult alternative and hot AC radio stations through RCA Records in the US in July 2009. Later that month, she released a black-and-white music video for the album’s song ” Canvas “. After completing Ellipse , she held a contest on Flickr for fans to submit photos to use as the album’s artwork in exchange for a small cash prize. In July, prior to the album’s release, an advance promotional copy was listed on eBay . After Heap tweeted about her frustration over it, the bidding price was raised to over £10 million by fans and the listing was soon taken down by eBay. The release date of Ellipse was pushed back multiple times; it was eventually released in the UK on 24 August 2009 through Megaphonic and Epic Records and in the US on 25 August 2009 through RCA. Like Speak for Yourself , Ellipse was made largely alone by Heap, who wrote, produced, engineered, and mixed the album in its entirety, though it was mastered by Simon Heyworth . Describing the two-year-long process of recording Ellipse as laborious and “bordering on torture”, Heap stated that it would be her “last album like this” and that her following album would involve making one song a month and releasing it soon after.