Good Sad Happy Bad (formerly known as Micachu and the Shapes) is a British band formed in 2008 by

Mica Levi Mica Levi (; b. 28 February 1987), also known by their stage name Micachu, is an English singer, songwriter, composer and producer. Levi is classically trained and since 2008 has released experimental pop music with their band Good Sad Happy Bad ...

aka Micachu (vocals, guitar), Raisa Khan (keyboards, vocals), and Marc Pell (drums). Initially fronted by Levi, they released their debut album ''

Jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

'' in 2008 via Rough Trade and

Accidental Records Matthew Herbert (born 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, and Wishmountain, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. Career Mat ...

. The group changed their name in 2016, and were joined by multi-instrumentalist and producer CJ Calderwood, with Khan assuming the role of lead vocalist.

History

Micachu and the Shapes

Their debut album, ''Jewellery'', produced with electronic musician

Matthew Herbert Matthew Herbert (born 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, and Wishmountain, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. Career Mat ...

, was recorded around Levi's composition studies at

Guildhall School The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

. Advance copies of the record reached the press in early 2009, and generated positive feedback. In the wake of this growing buzz, Micachu and the Shapes were signed to Rough Trade, which released ''Jewellery'' on 9 March 2009. Drowned in Sound consequently hailed the record as "thrillingly improbable pop made by a grade-A maverick". In 2009, the band received a grant from the PRS for Music Foundation. Micachu and the Shapes toured widely throughout the UK, including performances at

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...

and V Festival. The band played in the US at the

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

in New York City and

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

in Austin, Texas. They also performed on the main stage of the

Siren Music Festival The Siren Music Festival (a.k.a. Sirenfest) was an annual summertime outdoors concert held in Brooklyn's Coney Island from 2001-2010. It was run by the free arts/politics/current-events newspaper ''The Village Voice'', and was completely free-of-ch ...

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

in Brooklyn, in July 2009. Touring continued throughout Europe and North America in the summer and fall of 2009. In early 2010, Micachu and the Shapes supported

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for ...

on tour throughout North America. The band performed with the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

at Kings Place, London, in May 2010, and in March 2011 released the live recording as the album ''Chopped and Screwed''. Unlike their previous effort, the recording largely avoided pop sensibilities in favor of a slower, hip-hop indebted style and repetitive, discordant string arrangements. The band were chosen by

Animal Collective Animal Collective is an American experimental pop band formed in Baltimore, Maryland. Its members consist of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb). The band's work is characterized ...

to perform at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

festival that they curated in May 2011 in Minehead, England. The follow-up to their debut, '' Never'', was released on 23 July 2012. The band then released the album ''Good Sad Happy Bad'' on 11 September 2015.

Good Sad Happy Bad

In March 2016, the band announced on social media that they were changing their name to Good Sad Happy Bad. The band then expanded to a four-piece, adding multi-instrumentalist and producer CJ Calderwood and Raisa Khan becoming the band's lead vocalist. In September 2020, the band announced their return with a new single, "Shades". The track served as the title track to ''Shades'', the band's fourth studio album and first under the name Good Sad Happy Bad. It was released on October 16, 2020, via Textile Records.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (2009, Accidental, Rough Trade) (as Micachu, featuring the Shapes) *'' Never'' (2012, Rough Trade) (as

Micachu Mica Levi (; b. 28 February 1987), also known by their stage name Micachu, is an English singer, songwriter, composer and producer. Levi is classically trained and since 2008 has released experimental pop music with their band Good Sad Happy Bad ...

and the Shapes) *''Good Sad Happy Bad'' (2015, Rough Trade) (as Micachu and the Shapes) *''Shades'' (2020, Textile) (as Good Sad Happy Bad)

Live albums

*''Chopped and Screwed'' (2011,

Remote Control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

, Rough Trade) (as Micachu and the Shapes with the

)

References

{{Reflist British pop music groups Rough Trade Records artists Musical groups established in 2008 British indie pop groups