Bahari (band)

Lore & Background

Bahari formed after Ruby Carr and Natalia Panzarella met at a production team in Rock Mafia's studio while working on individual projects. They signed with Interscope Records and released their debut single 'Wild Ones' on December 30, 2014, which gained over 40 million streams on Spotify and was featured in Teen Wolf and The Royals. Their debut EP Dancing on the Sun was released on May 13, 2016, with its title track appearing on Supergirl and So You Think You Can Dance. During summer 2016, they toured as a supporting act for Birdy and for Selena Gomez's Revival Tour.

After leaving Interscope in 2018, they released independent singles including 'Fucked Up,' 'For What It's Worth,' 'Savage,' and 'Chasers,' marking a shift to a more edgy pop and electronic style. The band has not collaborated with Lovelytheband on any known releases.

Reader's Guide

Bahari's significance lies in their evolution from a trio signed to Interscope to an independent duo and later a solo project, reflecting shifts in the music industry. Their debut single 'Wild Ones' achieved notable streaming success and TV placements, while their later work with Epic Records and collaborations with artists like Illenium and G-Eazy expanded their reach. The departure of Sidney Sartini in 2018 and Ruby Carr's exit by 2023 left Natalia Panzarella as the sole active member, illustrating the fluid nature of band membership. Their music, featured on shows such as Riverdale and Teen Wolf, contributed to the alt pop and electronic landscape of the 2010s and 2020s.

Did You Know?

• Bahari's debut single 'Wild Ones' was the first song they wrote and was released on December 30, 2014.
• The music video for 'Dancing on the Sun' was filmed in Sequoia National Forest and directed by Marcus Haney.
• Sidney Sartini left the band in 2018, and their last performance as a trio was October 18, 2018.
• In 2024, Bahari and G-Eazy released 'Vampires,' a B-side to his single 'Nada.'

Formation and the Interscope Era

Ruby Carr, a South African-born vocalist and keyboardist who grew up in Kenya, and Natalia Panzarella, a Nashville native raised in Los Angeles, first crossed paths inside Rock Mafia's studio. Both were working on separate projects within the same production team when they began writing music together, and that informal collaboration quickly crystallized into a new act they named Bahari. The duo secured a deal with Interscope Records, and their very first song, "Wild Ones," dropped as a debut single on December 30, 2014. The track became a viral sensation, accumulating over 40 million Spotify streams and earning placements in the television series Teen Wolf and The Royals. Their music video, directed by Darnell Williams, arrived on April 5, 2016. Bahari also contributed vocals to Zedd's "Addicted to a Memory" on his second album True Colors. The debut EP Dancing on the Sun followed in May 2016, and the summer saw the pair touring as support for Birdy and Selena Gomez's Revival Tour.

Going Independent and the Sartini Departure

After parting ways with Interscope, Bahari entered a period of creative reinvention through a string of self-released singles in 2018. Tracks like "Fucked Up," "Savage," and "Chasers" signaled a deliberate shift toward a darker, more edgy electronic sound compared to their earlier alt-pop material. A promotional cover of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" rounded out that year's independent output. A debut studio album had been slated for fall 2018, though it never materialized. The band's personnel also underwent a significant change. On December 7, 2018, the group's official Twitter account announced that vocalist and guitarist Sidney Sartini had chosen to leave. The statement emphasized that the remaining members supported her decision wholeheartedly and loved her endlessly. Notably, the trio's final live performance together had taken place on October 18, 2018, meaning the public announcement came weeks after they had last shared a stage. From that point forward, Bahari continued as a duo of Carr and Panzarella.

The Epic Records Era and Forget You

The years following Sartini's exit saw Bahari steadily building a catalog of collaborations and independent releases before landing a new major-label home. In 2019 they appeared on Illenium's "Crashing," later included on his debut album Ascend, and put out self-released singles including ":(" and "Miles to Your Heart" alongside Sultan & Shepard and Rock Mafia. In 2020 they joined Elohim on her US Group Therapy Tour and subsequently signed with Epic Records. Their first release under the new label was a remix of their viral hit "Savage" featuring Bia, followed by "Waking Up the Neighbors." The duo then delivered "Bipolar" and "Jackie Kennedy" in early 2021 before releasing their second EP, Forget You, in July of that year. Additional singles like "Ways of Love" and a collaboration with Cody Lovaas on "All Around Me" extended the EP's momentum. By 2022 and 2023, Bahari continued to release material such as "Hot Mess" with Yoshi Flower, the synth-driven "Destructive," and "Kills Me," maintaining a consistent output of dark pop and electronic tracks.

Solo Continuity and Ongoing Releases

The band's membership has continued to evolve. Ruby Carr, who had been a founding member since 2014, is listed as having departed in 2023, leaving Natalia Panzarella as the sole active member of Bahari according to the group's official Instagram account as of 2025. Despite this reduction, the project has not gone dormant. In 2024, Bahari collaborated with G-Eazy on "Vampires," a B-side to his single "Nada." The following year brought two new tracks, "Don't Let a Good Thing Die" and "Lookout Mountain," and into 2026 the project released "Better Than Us" and a collaboration with Lovelytheband titled "I Do." What began as a three-person ensemble formed in a shared studio space has thus transformed into a one-woman vehicle that still carries the Bahari name. Panzarella, who has handled vocals and bass since the group's inception in 2014, remains the constant thread connecting the band's early Interscope-era pop to its current dark-electronic identity.