Sazzie (formerly known as The Good Natured and Lovestarrs) is an English synthpop solo act, consisting of Sarah McIntosh (born January 1991 in Highclere, Hampshire) on vocals and keyboards, and formerly her brother Hamish McIntosh on bass and George Hinton (with whom Sarah became acquainted at university) on drums.

Career

2008–2011: Career beginnings, ''Warriors'' and ''Your Body Is A Machine''

Sarah began playing the violin as a child, but felt it was not the right instrument for her, so she turned towards playing the drums. She also sang in a choir when she was a child. At the age of 14 she salvaged an old

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

keyboard while spring cleaning her grandmother's house. She taught herself to play the keys and at age 15 began to write her first own songs and founded a band with her brother Hamish. Later she went to university to study music, but found that both studying and pursuing her musical career was unmanageable. She therefore decided to drop out from university and concentrate on her own music. After attracting thousands of listeners with their first song, "Our Very Last", The Good Natured self-released their debut EP ''Warriors'' on 7 July 2008. The EP received a lot of press coverage, especially for the lyrics. Their second EP ''Your Body Is a Machine'' was released independently as well on 13 September 2009.

2011–2012: Parlophone, ''Skeleton'' and ''5-HT''

In March 2011, The Good Natured signed a deal with

Regal Recordings Regal Recordings is a British record label functioning as an imprint of Parlophone, Parlophone Records. Background Regal Records was a British record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings ...

and

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

, under which they released their EP ''Skeleton'' on 20 June 2011. The lead track, "Skeleton" peaked at No. 68 on the German singles top 100. They also signed to Astralwerks in the United States, where they made their debut with the release of ''Skeleton'' on 11 October 2011. On 9 December 2012, The Good Natured released their debut single, ''5-HT'' with an accompanying music video. The song failed to make an impact on any major charts. Also in 2012, The Good Natured and

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

released the song Ghost Train as a free download. On 28 March 2013, the band announced that their debut album would be titled ''Prism''. However, on 25 July 2013, the group announced via their Facebook account that they had been dropped from their label a few months earlier, and had spent the ensuing time in an unsuccessful effort to get the masters back so that they could self-release the album. They also stated that the band's final show would be at the Temple of Boom stage at the

Secret Garden Party The Secret Garden Party, often colloquially shortened to the SGP, is an independent arts and music festival which takes place in Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon in England. This location is on part of the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse and has its ...

that same month.

2014–2017: Lovestarrs, ''Get Your Sexy On'', ''Supernova'', new EPs, and a debut album

On 4 December 2013, they announced on their Facebook page that they will return in 2014 "in a new shape and form". In January 2014, they announced via their Facebook page that they had changed their name to Lovestarrs. On 31 March 2014, Lovestarrs released their debut single, "Get Your Sexy On". The single received very positive reviews, especially from The Guardian who described the song as "excellent". In September 2014 under their new name, Lovestarrs self-released their first EP, ''Supernova''. In support of this, they played shows in England and Sweden. On 12 October 2015, Lovestarrs began a Kickstarter campaign to fund production costs of two upcoming EPs and an album, ''Andromeda'', ''Cassiopeia'', and ''Planet Lovestarr'', respectively, all set for release in 2016. Sarah stated that this was being done so as to retain ownership of their music and enable them to license and release it through their new label DEFDISCO to avoid the issues that they had with Parlophone/EMI. The campaign was successful with 107% of their goal reached.

2017 – present: Sazzie

On 3 July 2017, Sarah posted on Facebook announcing a rebranding of Lovestarrs, becoming a solo act. On 22 July 2017, Sarah announced her new name to be "Sazzie". She released her first song as Sazzie on 31 July 2017 to YouTube; a cover of Kesha's song "Praying".

Influences

The Good Natured was compared to

La Roux La Roux ( ) is an English synthpop act formed in 2008 by singer Elly Jackson and record producer Ben Langmaid. The act's debut album '' La Roux'' (2009) was a critical and commercial success, winning a Grammy Award and producing hit singles su ...

Ladytron Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synth ...

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings public ...

and

Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. Nash launched her music career in 2005. Her 2007 single " Foundations" became a hit and brought her to public attention in the UK. Her debut album, '' Made of Bricks ...

. Sarah herself described The Good Natured as "dark electronic pop" as well as "electronic pop with heart", citing bands such as

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new ...

, Japan, Siouxsie and the Banshees and

(from Depeche Mode, Yazoo &

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

) as influences. Sarah stated that she is influenced by Katy Perry, Maroon 5 and Gwen Stefani when it comes to Lovestarrs.

Discography

Albums

* ''Prism'' (as The Good Natured) (unreleased) * ''Planet Lovestarr'' (2017)

Extended plays

* ''Warriors'' (2008) * ''Your Body Is a Machine'' (2009) * ''Skeleton'' (2011) * ''Supernova'' (2014) * Get Your Sexy On (2016) * Somebody Like You (2016)

Singles

* Be My Animal (2010) * Skeleton (2011) * Video Voyeur (2011) * Christmas Wrapping (with Colette Carr) (2012) * 5-HT (2013) * Lovers (2013) * Get Your Sexy On (2014) * Stupid Cupid (2014) * Ex Lover (2014) * Do You Work Out? (feat. Mix Master Mike) (2018)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Astralwerks artists English synth-pop groups Musical groups established in 2008 British musical trios Parlophone artists