Laura Les

Laura Les
Les at Rock im Park 2022 in Germany
Les at Rock im Park 2022 in Germany
Background information
Also known asosno1
Born (1994-12-02) December 2, 1994 (age 30)
Genres
OccupationsMusic producer, singer, songwriter
Member of100 gecs
Spouses
  • Gabe Howell
    (m. 2017; sep. unknown)
  • May Leitz (eng. 2024)

Laura Les (born December 2, 1994), previously known under the moniker osno1, is an American music producer, singer and songwriter best known as one half of experimental electronic duo 100 gecs, alongside Dylan Brady.

Early life

Les grew up in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.[1] As a teenager, she became interested in music while learning to play guitar.[2] While attending Columbia College[3] in Chicago, where she earned a degree in acoustic engineering,[4] she began releasing music online under the moniker osno1.

Career

Les performing in 2022

In 2016, Les released the EP, hello kitty skates to the fuckin CEMETARY, which she describes as "a bunch of songs about dead bodies."[5] She subsequently released the 2017 EP, i just dont wanna name it anything with "beach" in the title. In 2018, Les stopped using the osno1 moniker[6] and released a third EP, Big Summer Jams 2018, under her own name. Big Summer Jams 2018 received positive reviews from music critics, praised as "debauched digital celebrations"[7] by Vice and "a blender of fun” by Tiny Mix Tapes.[8]

Les participated in a remix album of Katie Dey's album Mydata in early 2021.[9] In March 2021, Les officially released her solo single "Haunted" following a positive reception from her fanbase after it was previously played during a virtual DJ set in 2020.[10] The song was subsequently featured in season 2 of the HBO series Euphoria.[11]

Personal life

Les has cited being transgender as contributing to her exploration of different singing styles, including pitched-up "nightcore style" vocals, which she once used almost exclusively in her music due to her experiences with voice dysphoria.[1] However, in a 2021 Pitchfork interview, she revealed she had begun taking vocal lessons and recording new 100 gecs music with unpitched vocals, saying, "As I've been exploring my voice more, I'm like, 'I can do this.'"[12]

She married illustrator and cartoonist Gabe Howell on October 13th, 2017.[13] Les lived in Chicago from 2013 to 2020, then moved to Los Angeles with Howell to work more closely with Brady.[12][14] As of July 2023, Les currently lives in rural Colorado with her girlfriend, May Leitz.[15] On December 2nd, 2024, May Leitz posted on BlueSky that she and Laura were engaged.[16]

Discography

Extended plays

Title Details
better get sharper; better change yr name
  • Released: 2015
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital Download
tape 1 - this town makes me sick sometimes
  • Released: May 26, 2017
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital Download
hello kitty skates to the fuckin CEMETARY
  • Released: October 2, 2016
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital Download
i just dont wanna name it anything with "beach" in the title
  • Released: August 16, 2017
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
BIG SUMMER JAMS 2018
  • Released: August 3, 2018
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download

Compilation albums

Title Details
xXsAd_PrOm_ReMiXXz_201666Xx
  • Released: May 10, 2016
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital Download
LETHAL POISON FOR THE SYSTEM (with Black Dresses and 99jakes)
  • Released: December 21, 2017
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital Download
REMIXES 2017
  • Released: January 8, 2018
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

Title Year Album
"Haunted" 2021 Non-album single

Guest appearances

Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Crossed Out" 2018 Yung Skrrt Triple Other
"Popular" Umru Search Result
"Hard Mode" 2019 Andrew Goes To Hell, forcefeeded Damage Control
"Pills and Good Advice" 2021 Left at London T.I.A.P.F.Y.H.

Songwriting and production credits

Songwriting and production work for other artists
Title Year Artist(s) Album
"Popular" 2018 Umru Search Result
"Are You Hanging with the Dead Again?" XEN99 Non-album single
"Let It Out" 2020 Rico Nasty Nightmare Vacation
"Pussy Poppin"
"Pills and Good Advice" 2021 Left at London T.I.A.P.F.Y.H.
"Kummer" Bolboi Non-album single
"I'm Not Perfect" 2022 Dreewzy
"Wanna Feel Anything Again" Die Together in Venus

Remixes

Title Original artist Year
"Anymore" Lil Aaron featuring Kim Petras 2019
"Rich Bitch Juice" Alice Longyu Gao 2020
"Leaving" Katie Dey 2021

As part of 100 gecs

Main article: 100 gecs § Discography
Album Year
100 gecs 2016
1000 gecs 2019
1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues 2020
Snake Eyes 2022
10,000 gecs 2023

References

  1. ^ a b Kim, Michelle Hyun (January 16, 2020). "Meet 100 gecs, the Absurdist Pop Duo Inspired By Everything on the Internet". them. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  2. ^ Blistein, Jon (December 20, 2019). "100 Gecs and the Art of Not Taking Things Too Seriously". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "Lollapalooza Music Festival Comes to Columbia's Front Yard". www.colum.edu. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  4. ^ "This chaotic duo sounds like nothing and everything you've ever heard". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  5. ^ "hello kitty skates to the fuckin CEMETARY". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Allanoff, Gabe (December 26, 2018). "Behind the Scenes With Laura Les". Underground Underdogs. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  7. ^ "Weather Our Dystopia With the Chaos Pop of Laura Les's Noisey Mix". www.vice.com. August 6, 2018. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  8. ^ "♫ Listen: Laura Les - BIG SUMMER JAMS 2018". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  9. ^ "Katie Dey Announces 'mydata' Remix Album With Laura Les, Tomberlin, & More". Stereogum. January 14, 2021. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  10. ^ "Laura Les Actually Grew Up in a Haunted House". PAPER. March 12, 2021. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  11. ^ "'Euphoria' season 2 episode 2 recap: fallout from the fracas". NME. January 17, 2022. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Horowitz, Steven J. (September 7, 2021). "This Is Your Brain on 100 gecs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  13. ^ Moen, Matt (June 13, 2019). "You've Never Heard Anything Like 100 Gecs". Paper. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Kelly, Sam (December 4, 2019). "100 gecs bringing unique brand of high-octane pop to Chicago". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago Public Media. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Fri, Naomi (July 27, 2023). "World Wide Gecs". New Yorker. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  16. ^ https://bsky.app/profile/nyxfears.bsky.social/post/3lceovp7f222y