Elite Gymnastics

Elite Gymnastics, self-described as a "multimedia art project", was an electronic music duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota and later a solo project from Vancouver, British Columbia. Formed by Brooks in Minneapolis around 2009, original lineups consisted of various local musicians in the Minneapolis metro area and eventually settled as a duo of James Brooks and Josh Clancy. They self-released several EPs and mixtapes before Clancy's departure in 2012. As a duo they released seven EPs, which credited Brooks with most of the songwriting and musical production, and Clancy with most of the album artwork: Real Friends, Neu! '92, Gizzard Greens V.1, Gizzard Greens V.2, Ruin (and its B-side, Ruin 2), Ruin 3, and Ruin 4. Gizzard Greens is a digital double EP (though the two volumes were released individually in 2010 and 2011) in the style of remix albums, featuring a cover of Cheryl Cole's "Parachute" and a mashup combining Sub Focus' remix of Rusko's "Hold On" (featuring Amber Coffman) with Blame's "Piano Takes You" on the first volume, and bootleg remixes of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and Waka Flocka Flame's "Fuck the Club Up" (featuring Pastor Troy and Slim Dunkin) on the second. The Ruin EP was reviewed favorably by Pitchfork magazine, earning a 7.8 album review rating and critical acclaim among a number of smaller publications, and quickly attracted an online cult following. Ruin saw a physical release in vinyl format under the electronic label Acéphale, with the B-side (Ruin 2) being five remixed versions of its A-side tracks. Previous albums were self-released online in digital format for free through their Tumblr-based imprint Psychedelic Surf Club. Ruin and Ruin 2 were later self-released for free download as a digital double EP. Ruin 4 includes "Life/Trap" and "We Got Lost", two previously unreleased tracks which didn't make it onto the Ruin EP, and a rerecorded version of Ruin's "Little Things" as a hidden track. The name Elite Gymnastics was taken from the lyrics of "Ruthless Babysitting" by power electronics group Whitehouse. In 2021, Brooks announced a reconciliation with Clancy and revealed intentions to revive the Elite Gymnastics name with his blessing (though ultimately not his involvement). A debut album, snow flakes 2022, was released on October 18, 2022 (the only prior commercial release under the name, RUIN, being considered a double EP). The album consists of re-workings of previously-recorded songs as well as new material, with the new lineup of Jaime Brooks and Viri Char. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.