Chaos Chaos are an American

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

band based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The band was formed in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

under the name Smoosh in 2000 and adopted their current name in 2012. The band consists of two sisters, who founded the band as children: singer/keyboardist Asya "Asy" Saavedra (born February 2, 1992) and drummer Chloe Saavedra (born March 5, 1994). They released three LPs as Smoosh, and have produced two further

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, several

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, and a fourth full-length album as Chaos Chaos.

History

Smoosh: 2000–2012

Smoosh started in 2000 when the family was at a Seattle music store The Trading Musician, standing in line to restring a violin. Asy and Chloe wandered into the drum section of the store, where Chloe met

Jason McGerr Jason McGerr (born July 19, 1974) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie. Musical career Early years McGerr was born and raised in Bellingham, Washington. At age ten, he began learning t ...

, the drummer for

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

. The family eventually left with a $600 drum kit for Chloe, McGerr's card from the Seattle Drum School, "and no violin."Smoosh
, Pattern 25 Records. Accessed 16 November 2006. When McGerr learned that Asy had been playing the piano and writing songs since she was very young, he offered to help them both. Neither Asy nor Chloe read music. Asy began piano training, but she soon quit because she found it boring. In 2000, Smoosh released ''Tomato Mistakes'', a two-track

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

that they mailed free of charge to anyone who wanted it. Four years later, in September 2004, Smoosh's

full-length A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size. A sculpture ...

debut ''She Like Electric'' was released under Pattern 25 Records. By the time Smoosh released their second LP ''Free to Stay'', on June 6, 2006, they were signed to Seattle-based

indie label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington which was founded in 1998 by Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, the members of the band This Busy Monster, to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

. Its third and title track, "Free to Stay", was an early song featured on ''Tomato Mistakes''. Asy also plays guitar on the track 'Waiting for Something' off ''Free to Stay''. The second album also features the song "Find A Way" which Smoosh performed on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'' on July 12, 2006, marking their first performance on late night TV. As they toured with

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order (biology), order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 Family (biology), families, 164 genus, genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the earl ...

as part of a world tour in mid-2006, they are also featured on the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based band's live DVD/CD ''

Live and in Person! London 2006 Eels (often typeset as eels or EELS) is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1991 by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Oliver Everett, known by the stage name E. Band members have changed over the years, both in the stu ...

''.

On August 5, 2007, Smoosh performed at Lollapalooza 2007 at Chicago's Grant Park. Their set included a cover of " This Modern Love" by

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band that was formed in London, England, London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, sampler) and Russell Lissack (lead guitar). Their first four albums all featur ...

, with whom they would later tour that same year in September. Earlier that year, they also headlined an east coast spring tour with The Postmarks. The band played "Pajama Party Time" on the children's TV series ''

Yo Gabba Gabba ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a Children's television series, children's Musical film, musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz (producer), Scott Schultz and developed by Kay Wilson Stallings. The series is about five cos ...

'' in 2007. The Saavedra sisters have been the only members of the band. Their younger sister, Maia Saavedra, played bass for them in 2007. As Smoosh, critics compared the band's sound to that of

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

and

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

and were impressed with the young writers and performers.Lisa Heyamoto
Tweenage band Smoosh rocks Seattle scene
, January 30, 2005. Accessed 12 April 2006. Smoosh opened for many leading

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

bands including

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member Janet We ...

, and the Presidents of the United States of America, as well as for other acts such as

Mates of State Mates of State are an American indie pop duo, active since 1997. The group is the husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner (born June 16, 1974) (vocals, organ, synthesizer, piano, electric piano, and occasional guitar and drums) and Jason Hammel (b ...

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach ...

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in ...

(who also covered their song "Rad"),

Nada Surf Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1992, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). After initially operating under the name Helicopter, Caw ...

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...

and

The Go! Team The Go! Team are an English indie rock band from Brighton, England. The band initially began as a solo project conceived by Ian Parton; however, after the unexpected success of the Go! Team's debut album, '' Thunder, Lightning, Strike'', Parton ...

. Asy collaborated with Seattle indie band Head Like a Kite to create the songs "Noisy at the Circus" (which can be found on Head Like a Kite's first album ''Random Portraits of the Home Movie''), "Daydream Vacation" (which can be found on their second album ''There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere''), and "Let's Start It All Again" (which can be found on their album ''Dreams Suspend Night'', and also available via the KEXP Song of the Day website). Asy also lends her voice to the soundtrack of the musical film ''

God Help the Girl ''God Help the Girl'' is a 2009 album by Stuart Murdoch of the band Belle and Sebastian with female vocalists such as Catherine Ireton. God Help the Girl is also the name of the band and the accompanying film released in 2014. The songs are ...

'' created by Stuart Murdoch of

Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from ...

, where she sings on the songs "I Just Want Your Jeans" and "A Down and Dusky Blonde". She also provided the vocals on the song "I Fell for the Fall" by Swedish band Karma Tree. In early 2008, they toured with

Tokyo Police Club Tokyo Police Club was an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2005, it consisted of vocalist and bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook, and drummer Greg Alsop. The band found early success with ...

and

The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls is an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer (lead vocals and piano; additional: keyboards, harmonica, ukulele) and Brian Viglione (drums and backing vocals; add ...

. In June 2010, Smoosh released their third album, '' Withershins'' (previously titled ''The World's Not Bad'').

Chaos Chaos: 2012–present

In 2012 the Saavedras changed the band's name to Chaos Chaos, abandoning the name "Smoosh" because the term had become associated with Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi after an episode of ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

''. Their current name is derived from a historical scientific name for a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

amoeba An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; : amoebas (less commonly, amebas) or amoebae (amebae) ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of Cell (biology), cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by ...

, which they liken to their music as it is "simple but always changing". Chaos Chaos released an EP, ''S'', on October 16, 2012. On February 23, 2013, they released a single, "In This Place." On October 7, 2014, Chaos Chaos released another EP, '' Committed to the Crime''. One of its tracks, "Do You Feel It?", was featured in the animated sci-fi cartoon ''

Rick and Morty ''Rick and Morty'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated science fiction Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadvent ...

'' season two episode "

Auto Erotic Assimilation The second season of the animated television series ''Rick and Morty'' originally aired on Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim in the United States on July 26, 2015, with " A Rickle in Time", and concluded on October 4 with ...

." This brought the band a lot of recognition. Chaos Chaos provided vocals to

George Watsky George Virden Watsky (born September 15, 1986) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, poet, author, and illustrator. Watsky broke out as a rapper with his viral video "Pale kid raps fast" in 2011, which featured his tradem ...

on the song "Brave New World" on his album ''

x Infinity ''x Infinity'', (pronounced ''Times Infinity'') is the fourth studio album by American rapper, spoken word artist and author George Watsky, released on August 19, 2016. The album was recorded at Seahorse Studios in Los Angeles, Grand St. Recording ...

'', which released on August 19, 2016. On August 27, 2017, the duo released the single " Terryfold", which features lead vocals from ''Rick and Morty'' co-creator and voice actor

Justin Roiland Mark Justin Roiland (born February 21, 1980) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, and producer. He co-created the Adult Swim animated sitcom ''Rick and Morty'', for which he voiced the protagonists Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith from 2013 ...

, a longtime fan of the band. The song became the band's first charting single when it debuted at #33 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...

chart in September 2017. After releasing the singles "Dripping with Fire" and "On Turning 23" in late 2017 and "Pink Politics" in April 2018, the band released the full-length album ''

Chaos Chaos Chaos Chaos are an American indie synthpop band based in Brooklyn, New York. The band was formed in Seattle under the name Smoosh in 2000 and adopted their current name in 2012. The band consists of two sisters, who founded the band as child ...

'' on May 15, 2018. To promote the album, they also began headlining their first nationwide tour on April 12 of that year. At the request of

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

, Chaos Chaos and Justin Roiland collaborated a second time to produce a song for

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

(a fan of ''Rick and Morty'') as a birthday present. It was released on West's 41st birthday (June 8, 2018) as a single called "Kanye's B-Day Song" featuring Rick and Morty. In 2019, the band released three singles that are currently unattached to any album: "Armed and Dangerous," "Theaters," and "Improv Song."

Members

Current members

*Asya "Asy" Saavedra –

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, keyboards *Chloe Saavedra – vocals,

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, percussion

Former members

*Maia Saavedra – vocals,

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

harpejji The harpejji ( ) is an Electric instrument, electric stringed musical instrument developed in 2007 by American audio engineer Tim Meeks. It has been described by its manufacturer as a cross between a piano and a guitar, and by Jacob Collier as a c ...

Discography

As Smoosh

*''Tomato Mistakes'' (2000) –

*''Free to Stay EP'' (2002) – EP *''

She Like Electric ''She Like Electric'' is the debut album recorded by Seattle sister duo, Smoosh. They were twelve and ten years old at the time they recorded it. The Japanese release of this album features a fifteenth track called "Inner to the Outer". Track l ...

'' (2004) – full-length

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

debut *'' Free to Stay'' (2006) – full-length album *''

'' – (

CD and DVD; Smoosh plays on three tracks) *'' Withershins'' (2010) – full-length album

As Chaos Chaos

*'' S'' (2012) – EP *"In This Place" (2013) – single * '' Committed to the Crime'' (2014) – EP * " Terryfold" featuring

(2017) – single, charted at #33 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

*''

'' (2018) – full-length album *"Kanye's B-Day Song" featuring

(2018) – single *"Armed and Dangerous" (2019) – single *"Theaters" (2019) – single *"Improv Song" (2019) – single *"Geography" (2020) – single *"Many Roads" (2020) – single *"Capital T" (2020) – single *"Need You (feat. Madge)" (2020) – single *"ETERNAL" (2021) – single *"Ethical Plum" (feat. BAYLI) (2024) – single *"Control" (2024) – single

Gallery

Image:Smoosh at Bumbershoot 2007 - Chloe & Asya 02.jpg, Chloe and Asya, 2007 Image:Smoosh at Bumbershoot 2007 - Maia 01.jpg, Maia, 2007 Image:Smoosh at Bumbershoot 2007 - Chloe 04.jpg, Chloe, 2006 Image:Smoosh at Bumbershoot 2007 - Asya 03.jpg, Asya, 2007

Notes

*McLean, Craig
"Too Much Too Young?"
''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', June 11, 2006 *Nelson, Sean
"This ''Is'' the Band"
'' The Stranger'', July 22, 2004. Band profile

References

External links

*
Smoosh's Myspace Page
maintained by University of Washington librarian Tom Bolling, very extensive set of links to newspaper stories.

Alexander Laurence
Smoosh on Barsuk RecordsSmoosh Raises the Lights with 'Dark Shine' / Sister Band Smoosh Rocks Kids-at-Work Day
National Public Radio. Two NPR pieces on Smoosh.
Smoosh Notes
A Database of Smoosh information, ranging from articles and media to graphics and fanart.
Smoosh-Links
Archive of Smoosh related links: interviews, bios, videos, etc.
Interview with Asy (via Talk Rock To Me)
August 1, 2012 {{Authority control 2000 establishments in Washington (state) Female musical duos Alternative rock groups from Washington (state) American child singers Child indie musicians Child musical groups Indie rock musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups from Seattle Sibling musical duos Sibling musical trios Singers from Washington (state) Barsuk Records artists