British singer/songwriter Natascha Sohl made her entrance in 2004 as an edgy pop starlet whose debut album Strange Fascination blended dance beats with polished melodies, only to reemerge years afterward in the vein of Alanis Morissette-style rock. She was born in Paris and raised in Surrey, England, where her introduction to music came through her parents’ Queen records; later she attended the Academy of Contemporary Music and earned a degree in vocal performance. After completing her studies, Sohl established herself on the London circuit as a solo performer who wrote her own songs and drew interest from several independent labels. In 2003 she signed with Granite Music, which issued Strange Fascination the next year. While touring behind that release, she traveled to New York City and was connected with a roster of A-list songwriters, prompting repeated visits to the city for further collaborations. The earliest result of those sessions, the single Naked, arrived in April 2006 and was featured in an episode of MTV’s The Hills, broadening her reach and building anticipation for a full-length sophomore album.
