100 Gecs (stylized in all lowercase) are an American musical duo formed in 2015 that consists of Dylan Brady and Laura Les.[1][2][3] They self-released their debut album, 1000 Gecs, in 2019 to positive reviews, followed by a "companion"[4] remix album, 1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues, in July 2020. They released their second studio album, 10,000 Gecs, in 2023. Their music has been noted for its often chaotic yet catchy mixture of various styles,[1][5] and has been described as helping to define the 2010s genre hyperpop.[6]
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.[7][8] However, they first had the idea to collaborate after meeting again at a house party in 2012.[9] In the winter of 2015, Les and Brady first produced music together, recording in Chicago[10][8] 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.[11]
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"[12] DJ set together for the 2019 Minecraft Fire Festival.[7] Following that collaboration, they continued to work on songs and released their debut album, 1000 Gecs, on May 31, 2019, to positive reviews.[13][14][15] According to Will Pritchard of The Independent, 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 vocals and cascades of ravey arpeggios."[6]
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.[citation needed] "Ringtone (remix)", featuring Charli XCX, Rico Nasty, and Kero Kero Bonito, was released in February 2020.[citation needed] 100 Gecs signed with Atlantic Records 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... [t]here's so many things that they could help us accomplish".[4] In October 2020, 100 Gecs commenced an artist residency at New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.[28] Before the COVID-19 pandemic, they were scheduled to perform at Coachella in April 2020.[29][9] 100 Gecs headlined another Minecraft festival, Square Garden, in April 2020, along with musical artists Charli XCX, Kero Kero Bonito, Dorian Electra, and Cashmere Cat.[30] In June 2020, they stated in an interview with The Forty Five that they hoped to provide the soundtrack to a Disney movie.[31] In August 2020, it was announced that 100 Gecs would perform at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2021.[32] On November 15, 2020, they released the stand-alone single "Lonely Machines" with American band 3OH!3.[33] They followed this up with the Christmas song "Sympathy 4 the Grinch".[34]
Brady produced several tracks for Rico Nasty in 2020, for example the August release "iPhone"[35] and the November release "OHFR?", both of which were singles from her debut album Nightmare Vacation (2020).[36] The production of two other tracks on the album were also credited to both Brady and Les, collectively under "100 gecs".[37]
2021–present: 10,000 Gecs
In early 2021, the group released a remix of Linkin Park's "One Step Closer" to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Linkin Park's debut studio album, Hybrid Theory.[38] Afterward, they embarked on independent projects, with Les releasing her debut solo single "Haunted" in March,[39] and Brady releasing the debut album of his band Cake Pop, Cake Pop 2, in April.[40]
In July 2021, the duo announced the 10000 Gecs Tour, with shows in North America set to take place from October to December.[41] On September 6, 100 Gecs announced their second studio album, 10,000 Gecs.[42] 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.[43] The North American leg of the 10000 Gecs Tour started on October 8 at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California,[44][41] and ended on December 9, at the Terminal 5 music venue in New York City,[41] which was also broadcast on the live streaming service Twitch.[45] 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.[46] These robes were created by Elly Golterman and worn during their tours in 2021 and 2022.[47]
On April 12, 2022, 100 Gecs released "Doritos & Fritos" as the second single for 10,000 Gecs, along with an accompanying visualizer.[58] The song marks a deviation from their established sound, carrying more characteristics of alt-rock than hyperpop.[59] 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.[60]
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 10,000 Gecs would be released on March 17, 2023.[61] They released the song "Hollywood Baby" on February 16, 2023, alongside a music video, as the third single from the album,[62] which they also revealed a tracklist for on the same day.[63]
After numerous delays, 10,000 Gecs was released on March 17, 2023, alongside the music video for the album's final single Dumbest Girl Alive to positive reviews. Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of Pitchfork describes the project as "a reevaluation of the most declassé and dunderheaded rock genres that roiled the 2000s.",[64] most notably with singles like Doritos and Fritos and Hollywood Baby. Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone Magazine comments that the project embarks on "the unenviable task of translating their chaotic hyperpop to a major label", while "experimenting just enough to evolve."[65]
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.[66][8] 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, 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. In the Chicago Tribune, the tree and its fame were compared to the house on the cover of American Football's American Football (1999), located in Urbana, Illinois.[67] The music video for their single "Money Machine" was filmed in the same office park just before the album cover photo was taken.[11]
Brady has said 100 Gecs' style is influenced by Breathe Carolina, John Zorn,[10] and I See Stars, among others.[7] Les calls their musical process "[v]ery much almost an improv mentality"[7] and has said that they "try to have fun and write songs that we would want to listen to",[2] adding that "the whole idea of labeling genres is not super important to us".[10] 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[s] anything with a catchy melody".[83][84] She has cited Naked City, Playboi Carti, 3OH!3, Cannibal Corpse,[10] and various PC Music artists as influences.[78] Both of them were heavily inspired by Skrillex's song "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites".[85][86]
^Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon (December 5, 2019). "Best Albums of 2019". The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
^Battan, Carrie (January 13, 2020). "100 gecs' Musical Scrap Yard". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
^Fagen, Lucas (September 21, 2019). "The Pranksters of Pop". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
^Allanoff, Gabe (December 26, 2018). "Behind the Scenes With Laura Les". Underground Underdogs. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.