100 Gecs (stylized in all lowercase) are an American
hyperpop duo formed in 2015 that consists of
Dylan Brady and
Laura Les
Laura Les (born December 2, 1994), previously known as osno1, is an American music producer and singer-songwriter best known for being one half of experimental electronic duo 100 Gecs, alongside Dylan Brady.
Early life
Laura Les grew up in a su ...
.
They self-released their debut
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
, ''
1000 Gecs'', in 2019 to critical acclaim, followed by a "companion"
remix album, ''
1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues'', in July 2020. Their music has been noted for its often chaotic yet catchy mixture of various styles,
and has been described as exemplifying the 2010s genre
hyperpop.
History
2015–2018: Formation and self-titled EP
Brady and Les, who lived just miles apart in the St. Louis area (
Kirkwood and
Webster Groves, respectively), first met during high school at a
rodeo.
However, they first had the idea to collaborate after meeting again at a house party in 2012.
In the winter of 2015, Les and Brady first produced music together, recording in Chicago
and eventually self-releasing their first EP, ''100 Gecs'', on July 12, 2016. The origin of the name "100 Gecs" is disputed, as Brady and Les have given varying and contradictory explanations in interviews.
2019–2020: ''1000 Gecs'' and ''1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues''
Despite plans to record more music, they were unable to find enough time until they performed a "breakout"
DJ set together for the 2019 ''
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before b ...
'' Fire Festival.
Following that collaboration, they continued to work on songs and released their debut album, ''
1000 Gecs'', on May 31, 2019, to positive reviews.
According to Will Pritchard of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', the album helped to consolidate the eclectic 2010s "
hyperpop" style by taking the genre "to its most extreme, and extremely catchy, conclusions: stadium-sized
trap beats processed and distorted to near-destruction, overwrought
emo
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
vocals and cascades of
ravey arpeggios."
In September 2019, it was announced that 100 Gecs and
Slowthai
Tyron Kaymone Frampton (born 18 December 1994), better known by his stage name Slowthai (stylised in lowercase), is a British rapper. Raised in Northampton, he rose to popularity in 2019 for his gritty and rough instrumentals and raw, politic ...
would support
Brockhampton on their
Heaven Belongs to You Tour
The Heaven Belongs to You Tour was the fifth and final headlining concert tour by American rap collective Brockhampton. The tour began on October 26, 2019, in Vancouver, and concluded on December 13, 2019, in Los Angeles.
Background and develop ...
later that year,
100 Gecs also headlined six additional shows of their own in various cities along the tour.
In November 2019, the duo appeared on the
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
web series ''
FishCenter Live'' and performed the songs "800db Cloud" and "Stupid Horse" in front of a
green screen backdrop of an aquarium.
100 Gecs were named an "Artist You Need to Know" by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' in 2019. ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' music critic
Jon Caramanica called ''1000 Gecs'' the best album of 2019, and it was rated among the best albums of the year by ''
Crack Magazine
''Crack'' is a monthly independent music and culture magazine distributed across Europe.
Founded in Bristol in the UK in 2009, the magazine has featured Björk, MF Doom, Lil Yachty, FKA twigs, Gorillaz and Queens of the Stone Age on the cove ...
'', ''
Noisey'',
''Paper'',
''Pitchfork'', and ''
Stereogum''. Towards the end of 2019, Brady announced a
remix album by the duo tentatively titled ''1000 Gecs & th3 phant0m m3nac3'' and set to feature artists including
A. G. Cook. The album was later retitled ''
1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues'', which Les referred to as "a companion to the original".
''Tree of Clues'' was released on July 10, 2020.
Several singles were released prior to the album. A.G. Cook's remix of "Money Machine" was released in October 2019, followed by
Injury Reserve's remix of "745 Sticky" in November 2019. "
Ringtone (Remix)", featuring
Charli XCX,
Rico Nasty
Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly (born May 7, 1997), known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Maryland. She rose to prominence in 2018 with singles such as "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin".
While in high schoo ...
, and
Kero Kero Bonito, was released in February 2020. 100 Gecs signed with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...
in 2020. Brady told ''NME'' they are "trying to be really big—trying to be as big as
Ed Sheeran", while Les said that Atlantic was a "good fit...
ere's so many things that they could help us accomplish".
In October 2020, 100 Gecs commenced an artist residency at New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Before the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, they were scheduled to perform at
Coachella in April 2020.
100 Gecs headlined another ''
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before b ...
'' festival, Square Garden, in April 2020, along with musical artists Charli XCX, Kero Kero Bonito,
Dorian Electra, and
Cashmere Cat. In June 2020, they stated in an interview with ''The Forty Five'' that they hoped to provide the soundtrack to a Disney movie. In August 2020, it was announced that 100 Gecs would perform at the
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fes ...
in August 2021.
On November 15, 2020, they released the stand-alone single "Lonely Machines" with American band
3OH!3. They followed this up with the Christmas song "Sympathy 4 the Grinch".
Brady produced several tracks for Rico Nasty in 2020, for example the August release "
iPhone" and the November release "OHFR?", both of which were singles from her debut album ''
Nightmare Vacation'' (2020). The production of several other tracks on the album were also credited to both Brady and Les, collectively under "100 gecs".
2021–present: ''10,000 Gecs''
In early 2021, the group released a remix of
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drumm ...
's "
One Step Closer" to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Linkin Park's debut studio album, ''
Hybrid Theory''. Afterward, they embarked on independent projects, with Les releasing her debut solo single "Haunted" in March, and Brady releasing the debut album of his band
Cake Pop, ''
Cake Pop 2
''Cake Pop 2'' is the debut studio album by American band Cake Pop, consisting of Dylan Brady, Ravenna Golden, Cali Cartier, Lewis Grant, Kevin Bedford, Pritty, Adam Newcomer, and Robel Ketema. The album is the sequel to their 2015 self-titled EP, ...
'', in April.
In July 2021, the duo announced the 10000 Gecs Tour, with shows in North America set to take place from October to December.
On September 6, 100 Gecs announced their second studio album, ''
10000 Gecs''. According to
Pitchfork's Steven Horowitz, the album is more mainstream and "mature" in its sound than their previous works, and will feature songs where Les is heard without the duo's trademark autotune. The North American leg of the 10000 Gecs Tour started on October 8 at the
Fox Theater in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...
,
[ and ended on December 9, at the Terminal 5 music venue in ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,[ which was also broadcast on the live streaming service Twitch. On November 19, 100 Gecs released the first single off the album, "mememe", during their tour, with an accompanying kaleidoscopic music video featuring the pair dancing in wizard robes.
Four days into the tour, more dates were announced for the Europe 2022 leg of the 10000 Gecs Tour, originally set to start in ]Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
in January, and closing out in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in February, but these were delayed until August and September. Several 2022 music festival lineups with 100 Gecs were announced in late 2021 and early 2022, such as BUKU, set to take place in in March; Ceremonia in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
in April; Coachella in Indio, California in April; Forecastle
The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " ...
in Louisville in May; Governors Ball in Queens, New York
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
in June (after pulling out of the festival the previous year); and Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee in June.
On April 12, 2022, 100 Gecs released "Doritos & Fritos" as the second single for ''10000 Gecs'', along with an accompanying visualizer. The song marks a deviation from their established sound, carrying more characteristics of alt-rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...
than hyperpop. A music video for the track was released on May 16, 2022, featuring the duo flying around a desert while the news reports on their actions; the video included a fake Danny Devito.
They kicked off their Europe tour with a concert at Vega, Copenhagen
Vega is a regional entertainment centre on Vesterbro in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was inaugurated in 1996 as part of the city's agenda as European Capital of Culture.
Description
Originally known as Folkets Hus, it was built in 1956 to a design ...
on August 11, 2022, and closed it out at SWG3 in Glasgow on September 5.[
On December 2, 2022, 100 Gecs released their second EP ''Snake Eyes'', along with an accompanying visualizer on the track "Torture Me" featuring Skrillex. They also announced that ''10000 Gecs'' will release on March 17, 2023.
]
Fandom
Following the group's success, the pine tree depicted on the album covers of ''1000 Gecs'' and remix album ''Tree of Clues'' became popular among fans. Soon, the "1000 Gecs tree" was found, revealed to be located in an Acuity Brands-owned office park in Des Plaines, Illinois, near O'Hare International Airport. A similar phenomenon has occurred with the "10000 Gecs bridge" in Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the 13th-m ...
, although not to the same extent as the tree. Fans of 100 Gecs began making "pilgrimages" to the tree and leaving items behind. The adoration of the tree was referenced in season 2, episode 4 of ''Only Murders in the Building
''Only Murders in the Building'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. The ten-episode first season premiered on Hulu in August 2021. The plot follows three strangers played by Steve M ...
''. In the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', the tree and its fame were compared to the house on the cover of American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
's ''American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
'' (1999), located in Urbana, Illinois
Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...
. The music video for their single "Money Machine" was filmed in the same office park just before the album cover photo was taken.
Production style and influences
The duo works on tracks by sending Logic Pro project files between the two, iterating songs each time—Les called the process "sort of an exquisite corpse type thing". Their music has been called an "anarchic assault on the ears" that " ullsconventional pop tropes in every direction possible", as well as "abrasive, maximalist pop" with "elements of pop punk
Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...
, nightcore
A nightcore edit is a version of a track that increases the pitch and speeds up its source material by approximately 35%. This gives an effect almost identical to playing a 33⅓-RPM vinyl record at 45 RPM. This 35% increase in RPM causes the ...
, ska, dubstep, deconstructed club
Deconstructed club, also known as post-club or deconstructed music is an experimental style of electronic dance music characterized by a post-modernist approach and an abrasive or dystopian tone. It stands opposed to the tropes of mainstream clu ...
, trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
, metal
A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
, and happy hardcore all thrown into one big internet blender", resulting in " ngs hatshift gears dozens of times, in a way that recalls... Kid606, or Venetian Snares
Aaron Funk (born January 11, 1975), known as Venetian Snares, is a Canadian electronic musician based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is widely known for innovating and popularising the breakcore genre, and is one of the most recognisable artists to ...
", also earning comparisons with label PC Music and band Sleigh Bells Sleigh Bells may refer to:
* Sleigh bells, a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers.
* Sleigh Bells (band)
Sleigh Bells is an American musical duo based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2008 and ...
. Les explained that the "merging of genres" is "more natural than people think", adding that the group "didn't expect that '1000 Gecs''would resonate with people so much".
Brady has said 100 Gecs' style is influenced by Breathe Carolina
Breathe Carolina are an American electronic music duo from Denver, Colorado, currently composed of David Schmitt and Tommy Cooperman. The band formed in 2007 and have released five albums, and nine EPs. Their latest studio album, '' Dead: The ...
, John Zorn, and I See Stars, among others. Les calls their musical process " ry much almost an improv mentality" and has said that they "try to have fun and write songs that we would want to listen to", adding that "the whole idea of labeling genres is not super important to us". Les became interested in making music as a teenager when she got her first guitar; she has said that she "kind of always just wanted to be a songwriter" and "love anything with a catchy melody". She has cited Naked City, Playboi Carti, 3OH!3, Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...
, and various PC Music artists as influences. Both of them were heavily inspired by Skrillex's song "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
''Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites'' is the second extended play (EP) by American electronic music producer Skrillex. It was released exclusively through Beatport on October 22, 2010 through mau5trap and Big Beat Records, while being released o ...
".
Band members and solo work
Dylan Brady
Brady became interested in music after being part of his high school choir and studied audio engineering in college for three years before moving to Los Angeles' Fashion District (Los Angeles), Fashion District. He additionally produces and records music under his name. In 2019, Brady co-produced the song "Click (Charli XCX song), Click" from Charli XCX's album ''Charli (album), Charli'' (2019)—Charli XCX explained that she heard about Brady via her fans and "listen to [100 Gecs] constantly now".
Laura Les
Les now releases music under her own name. However, she formerly released music under the moniker osno1. Les has cited being transgender as contributing to her exploration of different singing styles, including pitched-up "nightcore
A nightcore edit is a version of a track that increases the pitch and speeds up its source material by approximately 35%. This gives an effect almost identical to playing a 33⅓-RPM vinyl record at 45 RPM. This 35% increase in RPM causes the ...
style" vocals, which she now uses almost exclusively in her music. In Chicago, she worked at a "cross between a coffee shop and an empanada restaurant" and studied acoustical engineering before switching to engineering ("I'm just gonna do [music], and study something else", she said) in college. , she lives in Los Angeles with her husband Gabriel.
Les participated in a remix album of Katie Dey's album ''Mydata (album), Mydata'' in early 2021. In March 2021, Les released her solo debut single, "Haunted". The song had previously been played at a virtual concert but was officially released due to a positive response from her fanbase. ''The Daily Californian'' described the track as "immersive" and "eerie", while '' Stereogum'' called it "energetic" and "freaked-out". The song was subsequently featured in season 2 of the HBO series ''Euphoria (American TV series), Euphoria''.
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Remix albums
Extended plays
Singles
Remixes
Other appearances
Music videos
Production and songwriting credits
Tours
Headlining tours
* ''The Secret Tour'' (2019)
* ''10000 Gecs Tour'' (2021–22)
* ''Welcome To the World Tour'' (2022)
Supporting tours
* Heaven Belongs to You Tour
The Heaven Belongs to You Tour was the fifth and final headlining concert tour by American rap collective Brockhampton. The tour began on October 26, 2019, in Vancouver, and concluded on December 13, 2019, in Los Angeles.
Background and develop ...
(with Brockhampton (band), BROCKHAMPTON) (2019)
* U.S. 2022 (with Nine Inch Nails) (2022)
* Opening for My Chemical Romance’s Return Tour (2022)
References
External links
100 gecs on Bandcamp
osno1 (Laura Les) on Bandcamp
Dog Show Records
{{Authority control
American experimental musical groups
American musical duos
American electronic music groups
Musical groups from St. Louis
LGBT-themed musical groups
Big Beat Records (American record label) artists
Atlantic Records artists
Musical groups established in 2015
2015 establishments in Missouri