Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt met at high school in Oslo and moved to Copenhagen in 2011. In Copenhagen, Motzfeldt studied composition at the
Rhythmic Music Conservatory, where she was classmates with several artists who would form part of a broader Danish alternative pop scene, including
Erika de Casier,
ML Buch,
Astrid Sonne, and Fine Glindvad. Catharina Stoltenberg is the daughter of Norwegian politician
Jens Stoltenberg, who served as
Prime Minister of Norway twice between 2000 and 2013. Smerz have been hosting a monthly radio show on
NTS Radio since 2017. Smerz have played concerts at
Tate Modern in
London,
MoMA PS1 in
New York, Mutek in
Mexico City and
Montreal,
Berghain in
Berlin,
Pitchfork Festival in
Chicago,
Roskilde Festival in
Denmark, and
Volksbühne in Berlin. On their 2025 fall tour of the United States, singer
Sky Ferreira joined the duo for a surprise duet in Los Angeles. ==Discography==