The Good Natured : Interview

Sarah McIntosh is the young singer-songwriter, perhaps more widely known under her moniker The Good Natured.  Clutching her grandmothers old Yamaha keyboard that became the initial inspiration for her electronic-pop reflecting songs, this petite twenty something songstress is on the surface demure and indeed good natured, yet the fierce attitude depicted through her wordsmanship and stage prowess suggests otherwise.

Striking in her fashionable aesthetic entirely unafraid to create a performing alter ego, McIntosh combines a sharp image with slightly leftfield pop music that conjures all sorts of dramatic imagery as you listen.  Live, she stalks the stage, cavorts on the floor and wherever possible delivers her music unconventionally adding an alternative strand to give anyone who has a pre-conception of The Good Natured based on her music alone.  

There's no mistaking the fact that the milieu in which she fits is hugely saturated and over-populated currently with the likes of Marina and The Diamonds and Florence already winning over hoards of fans with their quirky popstress offerings. However, whilst not exactly different, The Good Natured is undeniably interesting with influences as diverse as Japan and David Sylvian and comparisons that have encompassed everyone from Kate Bush, to Ladytron and a whole lot in between. The utilisation of dance beats and the driving force of the synths make it obvious why the remixes have been coming through like a deluge, from Babymonster, Aspirins for my Children and the Kitsune Maison championed Zebra & Snake.  In fact the Zebra & Snake remix of the soon to be released single ‘Your body is a Machine’ is included on the most recent Kitsune compilation and has been garnering a lot of attention on the electronic scenes across Europe.

So with the darkly evocative ‘Your Body…’ ready for release this June, Sarah McIntosh as The Good Natured can look forward to a summer of festivals, touring and recording as she builds on the already significant excitement that surrounds her.

www.myspace.com/thegoodnatured

4or The Record: Sarah, aka The Good Natured, how did you come to be involved in music as a solo singer/songwriter?

Sarah: Well like every child does, I played the recorder to start with and then I played the violin but got bored of it, so then went and learnt to play the drums which was completely different and subsequently that made me listen to a different style of music mainly rock stuff.  When I was about 14 my gran was going to throw out this keyboard she had because she has really bad arthritis, so I took it from her and started learning how to play and I guess everything I am doing now really started from that point.  I started writing songs which weren’t very good at all and eventually as time went on I got better and better I guess [laughs].

4TR: In 2009 you released a 4-track EP that really singled you out as an artist to watch in the future.  Was that the turning point for you in deciding to pursue this dream full-time?

Sarah: Pretty much yeah, after all the time I had spent writing and recording I just wanted to have something that I could show for myself and introduce me to people who might not have known about me before, so I think the ep was a good way of doing that.  I had all the songs written and took them to a producer called ashwan meddie last summer during the heat wave and that was a really fun experience for me because we came up with different drum beats and sounds that we could use and just developed them from the sounds I had on my keyboard already. 

4TR: Since those early days with your keyboard to present, how has your sound changed or been defined if at all?

Sarah: Well I think its definitely changed over time because before I didn’t really know what I wanted to sound like.  Earlier on everything was more electro-esque because the producer I was working with made it that way; you know that wasn’t a bad thing but I just didn’t know what I wanted to sound like so as time has gone on I have developed everything and I have found my voice a bit more.  For anyone it takes a while to do that and to feel comfortable with what you are doing.

4TR: Where do you find the inspiration for your lyrics?  

Sarah: I write about how I feel emotionally and then also about how other people feel and take inspiration from things that happen in life.  I think that’s where my biggest inspiration comes from actually and I reflect that throughout my writing.  I like to think people might listen to the words in my songs and make up what they are about so they can relate to them in their own way rather than it being just about how I felt or feel.  

4TR: Live you project a theatrical performance through your image, make-up and the way you work the environment and your audience into a show.  You absolutely ensure all eyes are on you, but does that kind of showmanship come naturally?

Sarah: I think it’s a good thing to watch if an artist moves around a lot and dominates the stage they are on, so it’s just what I do I don’t know why.  When I was younger I used to be behind my keyboard the whole time which was quite restrictive but the older I have got the more confident I have become, especially because I have played a lot of shows now, so yeah I think you have got to go for it basically.   People are there to watch you so you have to ensure they are going to be interested by the entire performance.  I still get nervous before every show! 

4TR: Can we look forward to any future releases anytime soon?

Sarah: Yes, I'm releasing ‘Your Body is a Machine’ as a single, which has been re-recorded so it is a newer version to the one that was on the EP.  It sounds so good, so I am very happy for it to be coming out soon.  We also did an incredible video to accompany it which you can watch here.

Your Body Is A Machine

THE GOOD NATURED | MySpace Music Videos

4TR: And finally, what else can we look forward to from The Good natured this year?

Sarah: Well I am going to be doing loads of gigs and shows, we have recorded a session for Huw Stevens which will be aired soon and I want to keep recording while building up fans of my music.  So yeah recording and gigging for the foreseeable future.

Interview: Francesca Strange

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