As the sibling of 100 gecs’ Laura Les, Max Wheeler proves that crafting breakneck dance music is a talent that runs in the family.
At the Dec. 21 100 gecs show in Saint Louis, the crowd was starting to grow restless. The duo was running late, and impatient chants of “gec, gec, gec!” were rising and dying out every couple minutes. The small venue was packed to the brim, and people were already sweating through their Christmas sweaters. Could it be that their gecs had forsaken them?
Just as all hope seemed to be lost, someone quietly walked onstage, yet it was not one of the gecs. No openers were on the bill. Surely, so who could it be? Without a word, they launched into a set of breakneck pop punk remixes, high BPM rave, and a few tracks with live guitar that conjured up images of Squarepusher in a Midwest emo group. Whenever the incredulous audience got their sea legs and started to dance, the nameless performer would mix their song into rhythm oblivion. Every so often, a cartoon “boing” sound effect or an ad-lib of “ooh, so cute!” would make its way through. After a set of exhilarating chaos, they left the stage as nonchalantly as they entered.
The musician was forcefeeded, aka Saint Louis’ own Max Wheeler. 100 gecs fans will immediately understand their musical ethos of calculated silliness and throwing caution to the wind, and for good reason: forcefeeded is Laura Les’ younger sibling IRL, though it goes deeper than that. They hold a solid place in Soundcloud’s niche nightcore and alternative dance scenes, thriving as contemporaries of some of the biggest players, such as 99jakes, Alice Gas, and Andrew Goes To Hell. It is an incredibly innovative corner of the Internet, and forcefeeded is one of its most exciting artists to explore.
Constantly oscillating between genres and styles, their music can be hard to define, so let’s take a look at some of their most notable tracks:
“all of my life i have been good but now i am thinking what in the everloving hell“
It’s forcefeeded’s top track, and for good reason. The remix of Avril Lavigne’s timeless “What the Hell” is amped up with breakbeats, crazy dynamic shifts, and bouncing synth melodies. It’s fast and furious, but never takes itself too seriously, which is the point. How can you not have a good time when you’re raving to Avril?
“sMoKeScReEn“
This song is another selection anchored by breakbeats. The detail on the drums is key here, speeding up and slowing down with mathematical precision reminiscent of 90s IDM legends. It mixes rave, emo, and new-school pop, only stopping to let you breathe for a few moments around the halfway point.
“realy“
One of the most impressive things about forcefeeded is their genre pivoting, with “realy” serving as a prime example. It’s a short screamo track with absolutely no hints of electronics or dance. It’s recorded in that perfect lo-fi way where you can almost make out the words, but not really. A few nice riffs and screams later, it’s done.
“d4nc3d4nc3“
This remix is one that follows a similar blueprint to Avril’s “What The Hell?” spin-off, though this one tackle Fall Out Boy’s “Dance, Dance”. Pitched-up vocals and a thumping beat lead to a bonkers chorus that extrapolates on the “Dance, Dance” melody in layers of fast synth. The best part is the quick break for a cricket chirp sound effect before the first chorus. By the end of the song, the whole affair is blown out with gabber bass that feels like 10,000 punches to the gut.