Artist

Princess One Point Five

Genre: Pop
Origin: U.S.A
Listen on Coda
Melbourne native Sarah-Jane Wentzki earned the stage name Princess One Point Five, occasionally shortened to P1.5, because of her stature just over 1.5 meters paired with an outsized persona. Following four years in the group I Want a Hovercraft, she launched a solo career under that moniker and delivered pop material whose lyrics often touched on unsettlingly dark themes against bright piano backdrops, alongside more overtly shadowy, experimental instrumentals. Her debut full-length, the 2005 release At Long Last, received support from an Arts Council Buzz Music Grant and featured backing players drawn from fellow Melbourne outfit Because of Ghosts. The record claimed the Spirit of Youth Music Award; Wentzki redirected the prize funds toward a more ambitious follow-up, The Truth. Four months prior to the award win, her mother had passed away, and the album channeled the process of mourning. Her circle of musical collaborators coalesced into a steady band that included drummer Richard Andrew of Underground Lovers and bassist Andy Papadopoulos. The same lineup tracked the third Princess One Point Five album, Vous Je Vous, without grant or prize assistance, devoting a full year to the sessions while balancing part-time employment. They also issued the limited-edition Lolita EP in 2007 to raise funds. Eventually appearing in 2008, the more pop-oriented Vous Je Vous quickly placed several tracks in episodes of the television series Gossip Girls and Medium.