XIU XIU

Xiu Xiu, formed by Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo, tackles raw feelings through sounds that swing between abrasive force and gentle intimacy. The ensemble weaves post-punk, synth pop, folk, Asian percussion traditions, experimental textures, noise, modern composition, and additional styles into an intricate exploration of love, sex, death, and injustice. Early on, the group fused these elements with striking originality, evident in the brass-and-percussion emphasis of the 2002 debut Knife Play and the restrained electro-acoustic explorations on 2003's A Promise. Pop aspects gained greater weight beginning with 2004's Fabulous Muscles, yet the band's perspective and Stewart's fervent vocals stayed resolutely direct. Though Stewart and Seo often captured alienation with sharp insight, they also joined forces with figures including Mary Halvorson, Merzbow, and Charlemagne Palestine. Across releases, the sound moved from the propulsive synth pop of 2012's Always to the visceral intensity of 2019's Girl with a Basket of Fruit. Into the 2020s, the supportive partnerships on 2021's Oh No, the sharp contrasts of 2023's Ignore Grief, and the blended polarities of 2024's 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips confirmed that Xiu Xiu's work retained its authentic core.

Xiu Xiu traces its origins to the late 1990s, when vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jamie Stewart and multi-instrumentalist Cory McCulloch performed together in the experimental indie rock outfit Ten in the Swear Jar. During that period the group put out 1999's debut My Very Private Map along with the EP Inside of the Computer Are All of My Feelings before splitting in July 2000; Asian Man Records later compiled their recordings as Accordion Solo! in 2005. Stewart launched Xiu Xiu in 2002, borrowing the name from the film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl and framing the project as an outlet to dance through sorrow after composing its first song upon leaving a San Jose club with the feeling of being "stupid and lonely." The initial roster included McCulloch, Yvonne Chen of the indie zine Zum, and Lauren Andrews; their blend of programmed rhythms with brass, mandolin, gongs, and keyboards surfaced on the February 2002 album Knife Play. Springman soon issued a 10" Xiu Xiu/Deerhoof collaboration whose Deerhoof member Greg Saunier would remain a recurring partner. That August brought the Chapel of the Chimes EP, which contained a rendition of Joy Division's "Ceremony."

Chen exited before recording began on the second album, while McCulloch shifted toward engineering and production. Partly shaped by the passing of Stewart's father, February 2003's A Promise leaned acoustic and incorporated Jherek Bischoff plus reimagined Ten in the Swear Jar material and Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car." The limited-edition Fag Patrol EP, featuring covers of Smiths and Ten in the Swear Jar songs, also surfaced that year. Andrews departed in 2003, prompting a shift on the subsequent record. February 2004's Fabulous Muscles foregrounded moody synth pop layered with experimental rock, marking one of the band's most approachable efforts. Stewart's cousin Caralee McElroy joined for extensive touring behind it. A live document, Life and Live, preceded the fourth album, July 2005's La Forêt, which hinted at earlier approaches and featured Devin Hoff and Deerhoof's John Dieterich. Later that year Xiu Xiu shared a split single with Devendra Banhart, while the Larsen collaboration XXL debuted with Ciaütistico!.

Continued activity yielded the 2006 fifth album The Air Force, produced by Saunier, who also performed on it; Stewart processed personal hardship within some of the project's most explicitly pop-oriented material. The covers EP Tu Mi Piaci, interpreting works by artists from Bauhaus to Nina Simone to Nedelle, appeared alongside the Grouper collaboration Creepshow. After XXL's second album Spicchiology? in 2007, January 2008 brought Women as Lovers, again centering synth pop and including Michael Gira on a version of "Under Pressure." McElroy left in 2009 to join Cold Cave; Angela Seo arrived and collaborated with Stewart and Saunier on March 2010's Dear God, I Hate Myself, recorded across California and North Carolina with several tracks written on a Nintendo DS.

Xiu Xiu marked its tenth anniversary with 2012's Always, mixed by John Congleton and featuring Hoff's return; the eighth album addressed war atrocities, the struggles of Chinese female migrant workers, and reproductive rights, dedicated to dedicated listeners. The Oxbow's Eugene S. Robinson collaboration Sal Mineo issued its self-titled debut on Important Records in April 2013. Touring with Swans prompted Stewart to interpret Nina Simone material; Nina, drawing on jazz and avant-garde contributors Tim Berne, Tony Malaby, Mary Halvorson, Andrea Parkins, and Ches Smith, emerged late that year. Angel Guts: Red Classroom, titled after a 1970s Japanese erotic film and presented as among Xiu Xiu's bleakest works, followed in January 2014. Unclouded Sky, a set of American and Caribbean spirituals captured by Stewart and Shahzad Ismaily at Sigur Rós' Icelandic studio, appeared as an April 2014 Record Store Day release.

Commissioned in 2015 by Australia's Gallery of Modern Art to reinterpret the Grammy-winning Twin Peaks score, Xiu Xiu toured worldwide before documenting the results; Plays the Music of Twin Peaks first surfaced for 2016's Record Store Day. Additional projects included separate efforts with Mitski and Merzbow plus music for an experimental Magic Flute staging and a Danh Vo installation. February 2017's Forget offered a comparatively accessible collection shaped by Congleton, Saunier, Charlemagne Palestine, and Vaginal Davis. The following year saw a reunion with Vo for Deforms the Unborn, an extended piece drawn from possession testimonies performed at the Guggenheim Museum. February 2019's Girl with Basket of Fruit, produced by Seo and Saunier, delivered some of the band's most severe music since Angel Guts: Red Classroom. Stewart and Seo then began the next album, recorded at home with Seo producing; March 2021's Oh No presented empathetic duets with longtime associates including Grouper's Liz Harris, Circuit des Yeux's Haley Fohr, Chelsea Wolfe, and Owen Pallett.

Pandemic restrictions on touring led Stewart and Seo to focus on studio work and other projects. An August 2021 rendition of "A Real Indication" from the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me soundtrack, featuring longtime associate David Kendrick of Sparks, Devo, and Gleaming Spires, supplemented Plays the Music of Twin Peaks. A subscription service launched, Seo issued 2021's Strands as Hyunhye Seo, and Stewart completed a memoir. Live performances resumed by late 2022, including a Cologne Academy of the Arts of the World appearance with Jonathan Berger. Stewart and Seo collaborated with Kendrick on the thirteenth album, March 2023's Ignore Grief, produced by Seo; half the songs drew from real traumatic events experienced by acquaintances, while the remainder offered fictional narratives echoing 1950s and early-1960s teen tragedy songs. The record extended its contrasts through industrial and modern classical juxtapositions alongside the vocal interplay between Seo and Stewart.

Relocating to Berlin, Xiu Xiu issued September 2024's 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, mixed by Congleton, which harnessed the dismantling of prior stylistic assumptions to shape its blend of weighty textures and bittersweet atmospheres.