Xiu Xiu is an American avant-garde group originally from San Jose, California. The band is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart, who has been its only constant member since its inception in 2002. His current bandmate is Angela Seo. The band's name is taken from the 1998 Chinese film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl. Having performed alongside one another in previous acts such as IBOPA and Ten in the Swear Jar, Jamie Stewart and Cory McCulloch formed their third collaborative effort, Xiu Xiu, in 2002. Aided by friends Lauren Andrews and Yvonne Chen – both of whom would... contribute to the band's early recordings – Xiu Xiu would tour their first LP Knife Play, and its successor EP, Chapel of the Chimes, throughout the years 2001 and 2002, blending both melody and cacophony with a heavy reliance on percussive instrumentation and brass instrumentation. Following 2002, the group would shrink in membership as Yvonne Chen left in order to focus on her vegan boutique Otsu and self-published magazine Zum, while Cory McCulloch also stopped touring, focusing instead on producing the band's next two LPs.
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| Career began: | 2000 |
| Members: | Jamie Stewart, Caralee McElroy, Cory McCulloch, Ches Smith, Devin Hoff, Yvonne Chen, Jherek Bischoff, Sam Mickens, Sean McGahan, Lauren Andrews, Angela Seo, Zac Pennington |
| Hometown: | San Jose |
| Also known as: | Xiu Xiu |