Les and Brady met 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 in July 2016. Les and Brady chose the name "100 gecs" after seeing the words spray-painted on the side of a building in Chicago. Despite plans to record more music, they were unable to find enough time until they performed a DJ set together for the 2019 Minecraft Fire Festival; following that collaboration, they continued to work on songs and released their debut album1000 gecs in May to positive reviews. In September 2019, it was announced that 100 Gecs and slowthai would support BROCKHAMPTON on their Heaven Belongs to You Tour 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 web series FishCenter Live and performed the songs "800db Cloud" and "Stupid Horse" in front of a green screen backdrop of an aquarium. Towards the end of 2019, Brady announced a remix album by the duo tentatively titled1000 gecs & th3 phant0m m3nac3. The remix album was later retitled 1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues and features artists including A. G. Cook and Injury Reserve. Cook's remix of "Money Machine" was released in October 2019, followed by Injury Reserve's remix of "745 Sticky" in November 2019. A remix of "Ringtone" featuring Charli XCX, Rico Nasty, and Kero Kero Bonito was released in February 2020. The duo released the album on July 10, 2020. In an interview with The Forty Five in June 2020, they stated that they hoped to provide the soundtrack to a Disney movie.
Production style
The duo works on tracks by sending Logic Pro project files between the two, iterating songs each time. Their music has been called an "anarchic assault on the ears" that " conventional pop tropes in every direction possible", as well as "abrasive, maximalist pop" with "elements of pop punk, nightcore, ska, dubstep, deconstructed club, trance, metal, and happy hardcore all thrown into one big internet blender", resulting in "ongs shift gears dozens of times, in a way that recalls... Kid606, or Venetian Snares", also earning comparisons with label PC Music and band Sleigh Bells. Brady has said 100 Gecs' style is influenced by Breathe Carolina, John Zorn, and I See Stars, among others. Les calls their musical process "ery 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, and various PC Music artists as influences.
Solo work
Brady additionally produces and records music under his own name. He became interested in music after being part of his high schoolchoir and studied acoustic engineering in college for three years before moving to Los Angeles. In 2019, Brady co-produced the song "Click" from Charli XCX's album Charli —Charli XCX explained that she heard about Brady via her fans and "listen to constantly now". Les formerly released music under the moniker osno1. She worked at an empanada restaurant and studied acoustic engineering in college in Chicago.
