One day, Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt abandoned their classical training for digital chamber experimentation. Inspired by the freedom and immediacy of footwork and bass, the duo began to spin their lyrical intuition on the low end spectrum of electronic music, creating a hypnotic, intriguing sound with an emotional honesty so minimalist as to be brutal. Okey (2017) and Have Fun (2018), two releases for XL Recordings, extract just the necessary pop and R&B to deliver both the sexy and the sad, as corny as they are rebellious. With incisive tracks like “Because” and “No harm” and intense performances that shine equally in the intimacy of a club as at a massive festival, Smerz has created a sound that’s both captivating and disarming, one pop song at a time