Jaime Brooks

Jaime Brooks (born May 5, 1984) is a Canadian-American songwriter and musician.
Career.
2009-2013: 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 in Minneapolis in 2009 as the duo of James Brooks and Josh Clancy, Elite Gymnastics self-released several EPs and mixtapes before Clancy's departure in 2012.
As a duo, they released seven EPs for which Brooks can be credited 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 separately in 2010 and 2011) in the style of a remix album, 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 well-received by Pitchfork magazine, earning a 7.8 album review rating and critical acclaim among a number of smaller publications, which 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.
Josh Clancy's departure.
Following a 2012 tour as a supporting act for Sleigh Bells, Elite Gymnastics became Brooks' solo project with Clancy parting ways after a reportedly tumultuous experience on the road. "Our personal relationship is kinda kaput for the time being," Brooks describes in a Tumblr post detailing some of the reasons for continuing the project solo. Brooks continued the project solo, relocating to Vancouver following a stint in New York City, releasing the single "Andreja 4-Ever" as part of the Adult Swim Singles Program the same year.
The solo form of Elite Gymnastics only saw the release of single "Andreja 4-Ever" and a couple of remixes (for Sky Ferreira and How to Dress Well) before Brooks decided to rename the project; first to Dead Girlfriends, then to Default Genders.
2013-2014: Default Genders.
"Dead Girlfriends" and "On Fraternity" controversy.
The release of single "On Fraternity" from the "Stop Pretending" debut EP, in association with the name change to "Dead Girlfriends", caused a substantial amount of controversy and prompted a series of articles by various publications and an online round table discussion by Spin magazine. Brooks rechristened the project "Default Genders" shortly thereafter.
2015-2018: Eponymity.
During a four-year period following relocation to Los Angeles, California, Brooks released a series of demos and bootleg remixes on SoundCloud eponymously as James Brooks, but were not made available for purchase or download.
2019: Default Genders.
"Main Pop Girl 2019".
On February 4, 2019, Brooks released a second full-length Default Genders album titled "Main Pop Girl 2019", which includes a track featuring pop artist No Rome, updated versions of demos previously released eponymously, and an updated version of "Sophie" from "Magical Pessimism 2014" featuring artist Beth Sawlts. The album was reviewed favorably by Pitchfork magazine, receiving an 8.0 rating.
2020: Default Genders.
"Pain Mop Girl 2020".
On April 20, 2020, Brooks released a new full-length Default Genders album titled "Pain Mop Girl 2020", which consists mostly of guest-remixed and reworked versions of "Main Pop Girl 2019" songs, and features two original songs as the opening tracks.
"Main Pop Girls 2015-2018".
On December 4, 2020, Brooks released a collection of demos as an album titled "Main Pop Girls 2015-2018" which consists of an unreleased song as the opening track and songs previously showcased eponymously as SoundCloud demos during 2015-2018, many of which laid the groundwork for material on subsequent Default Genders albums.
Discography.
Elite Gymnastics.
Unreleased songs.
Note: "I Just Wasn't Paying Attention" is an early version of "We Got Lost" from "Ruin 4".