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

Mica Levi Micaela Rachel "Mica" Levi (born February 1987), also known by their stage name Micachu, is an English musician, composer, producer, singer, and songwriter. Levi studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but left without a ...

a/k/a Micachu (vocals, guitar, electronics), Raisa Khan, also known as Raisa K (keyboards, vocals), and Marc Pell (drums). Initially fronted by Levi, they released their debut album ''

Jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

'' in 2008 via Rough Trade and Accidental Records. 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 in 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, Wishmountain, and DJ Empty, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. ...

, was recorded around Levi's composition studies at Guildhall School. 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. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

and

V Festival V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...

. The band played in the US at the

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

in New York City and

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

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 neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

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 table setting, place setting, it ...

on tour throughout North America. The band performed with the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber music, 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 ...

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 County, 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 cha ...

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 as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...

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. Their fifth album, ''All Kinds of Days'', was released on November 8, 2024. The album was created through instrumental improvisations which vocals were then added to. All four members of the band sing on the album.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

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

Micachu Micaela Rachel "Mica" Levi (born February 1987), also known by their stage name Micachu, is an English musician, composer, producer, singer, and songwriter. Levi studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but left without a ...

and the Shapes) *''Good Sad Happy Bad'' (2015, Rough Trade) (as Micachu and the Shapes) *''Shades'' (2020, Textile) (as Good Sad Happy Bad) *''All Kinds of Days'' (2024, Textile) (as Good Sad Happy Bad)

Live albums

*''Chopped and Screwed'' (2011,

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

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

)

References

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