Research, analyse and critically discuss how Mk.gee utilises creative music technology to shape sound.
(1,826 words)
Before establishing himself as the mysterious multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer inspiring a whole generation; Michael Gordon from Linwood, New Jersey spent his free time pirating music.
In an interview with Dazed (a trusted source with a reputable in-depth coverage in niche cultural commentary) in September 2024, he said he created “the weirdest, most extensive library of music” on iTunes, via software called Pandora. But the first CD he ever bought for himself was The Blueprint by Jay-Z, it made him question everything he had been listening to up to that point. It never occurred to him that Pandora was compressing everything he downloaded to a low, 12-bit resolution. The stark contrast he experienced upon hearing this CD felt “like Jay-Z was actually inside my brain, talking to me”. For me, this seems like the root of Mk.gee’s unique ability to harness the jagged edges of music technology, and embrace the familiar, low-fi, broken atmosphere we now recognise as distinctly Mk.gee.
Mk.gee learned the basics of guitar from a guy who played the upright bass, he said “I never liked the idea of getting lessons from a guitar player” he thought it would be more useful to have lessons that were “more exploratory, more about trying things out”. Now he is hailed by his contemporaries, even Eric Clapton compared discovering Mk.gee to one of his heroes – Prince. “He has found things to do on the guitar that are like nobody else”. Right from the start of his musical journey he challenged the systems, actively learning things differently. This is what makes his music so unique. It was his intense drive to be “the best ever” that drove young Michael Gordon to start producing. At 15 he was in a jazz trio, but said “I always new that I wanted something more”, eventually he bought a four-track recorder, left the trio, and learned how to record himself. In his freshman year at USC Thornton School of Music, someone gave him a cracked copy of Ableton, which he used to record and produce funky tracks with the help of his classmates. He released it in 2016 under the title 8ams, and dropped out of uni around a similar time. All of Mk.gee’s old music, from before he considered himself a professional, lives online and can be found – he has this mindset of “cards on the table” and says “I didn’t know how to do anything when I started. Because of that, I have no fear going forward.”
Mk.gee’s desire to break the rules has made him one of the greatest up-and-coming artists of his generation. The influences drawn from low-fi underwater-sounding music, combined with the flashiness of prince and the 80’s has left a massive impact on modern indie production. Mk.gee’s broken guitar tones completely shifted the indie underground, directly inspiring a new wave of bedroom artists like Polami Roko and Nickname.Jos to leave polished laptop plugins behind for raw, unpredictable technology.
Mk.gee has a toolbox filled with virtually every existing guitar sound – The Roland VG-8. Released in 1995, it was an early-stage amp modeller pedal, used to recreate a huge variety of tones. It was famously used by Joni Mitchell, Sting, and many more musicians of the time. As music technology developed through the 2000’s, the VG-8 was left behind – but its presence is still felt in childhood memories, on the radio, and on our parents playlists. The invention of the Roland VG-8 challenged the role of the traditional guitar, it allowed guitar players to emulate a variety of sounds, subsequently eliminating the long process of learning a new instrument. It also allowed for pitch shifting on individual strings, instead of changing guitar or tuning, the VG-8 has presets for quick alternate tunings on one pedal. It also has a Harmonic Restructure Modelling (HRM) feature, meaning that it modifies the analog string vibrations in real time, saving the user from latency. This means you can add effects like panning to each independent string as well.
Mk.gee has a talent for re-cycling sounds and equipment to create nostalgia. His use of the Roland VG-8 is a perfect example of this. He used it as a digital emulator, paired with his TASCAM Portastudio as a pre-amp, allowing his guitar to sound like a synth pad, or bowed instruments. Apparently (according to reddit), Mk.gee primarily uses the stock sounds like the “BowedPad” preset for his distinctive tone.
Probably the most interesting thing about Mk.gee’s set-up is the 80’s TASCAM 424 Portastudio. It’s a 4-track recording device that allows for overdubs, and mixing. It’s a portable studio-in-a-box, built for recording quick demo’s on the go. But that’s not how Mk.gee uses it, his curiosity for vintage equipment knows no bounds. He places the Portastudio at the end of his pedal chain, and connects the TASCAM outboard directly into front of house speakers, completely eliminating the need for a guitar amp. By turning up the master fader, the input signal will “red line” creating a dirty, clipped, distortion effect. When strummed quietly the signal avoids redlining, dipping under the distorted level. This effect gives a noticeable dynamic contrast between tones, making his guitar sound reactive and explosive. In order to further control the contrast, Gordon tweaks the channel EQ and gain control. When the TASCAM is connected directly to front-of-house speakers, it removes the colouration and filtering of a traditional amplifier – giving the tone a more direct presence. This machine has such specific sweepable mid-range EQ that Mk.gee is able to carve out exact frequencies to complement his soundscapes.
In this modern era of production, producers use plug-ins to re-create a polished analog warmth, but Mk.gee again has a different approach – the feedback hum of his baritone guitar, the clipped distortion, and stuttering drums add a sense of humanity to his music. These glitches mimic the human mind and body, breathing and shaking. By letting his technology “choke” on its own processing, he re-creates the unpredictability of human emotion.
Michael Gordon’s specific choices in vintage equipment leads to many “mistakes” in his recordings. However, rather than removing/re-recording these errors, he keeps the glitches in. This complements his signature lo-fi sound because it suits the timbre of his nostalgic soundscapes. The TASCAM 424 is a perfect example of this; although Mk.gee is able to control dynamics and frequencies relatively well, due to the vintage nature of this machine – it often makes out-of-place sounds like sudden volume drops, and loud, intentional tape clicks. But that’s only the beginning of Mk.gee’s controlled chaos. Quite uniquely, gordon often adds fly-by sounds to his music – in his debut album “Two Star And The Dream Police” – these theatrical sound effects such as unsheathed swords, laser beams, and screeching trains can be heard, carefully placed, prominently sweeping across his soundscapes. Mk.gee has spoken about his influence from gear that was deliberately made to be low quality. By taking this cheap equipment, pushing it past its limits – he reframes the glitches as highly intentional. This is one of the things I find most inspiring about Mk.gee’s use of creative technology, it’s proof that you don’t need to break the bank to create a strong sense of artistic integrity.
The debut album “Two Star And The Dream Police” is all about finding a weird, middle ground space where everything feels both totally alien and deeply familiar at the same time. Tracks like “New Low” and “Alesis” don’t follow the standard, clean indie-pop formulas; they lean into a fragile, ghostly atmosphere where the instrumentation feels stripped of the commercial norms. By using vintage equipment to deliberately evoke a moody feel, as well as dropping bright unexpected piano chords right next to harsh textures. He proves that a track doesn’t need to be polished to carry emotional weight. The space across the album shows the quality of his equipment, and it shows that creative technology is best utilised when it is forced to move slowly, trading perfection for unfiltered emotion.
A lot of “tone hunters” have speculated on Gordons repeated use of 80’s technology, often stating he uses “police-esque” processing. They are of course referring to the 80’s English rock band “The Police”. Not only does he use equipment from the time period, he frequently uses chorus and flange effects that are reminiscent. While he has never publicly confirmed his influence from them, fans have recognised the sonic parallels. Another piece of music technology Mk.gee uses is the Lexicon Reverb pedal, this paired with heavy compression gives a very 80’s sound. Many other ambient elements of Mk.gee’s music are manipulated in a similar way. All of these techniques, however unique, are stacking to add to this sense of nostalgia.
This specific choice of chorus-heavy processing and tight, gated reverbs mimics the sound of new wave records. It is a highly deliberate form of sonic world-building from the past. by running these recognisable modulation effects into his pedal chain, Gordon essentially strips away the commercial side of the 80’s. He replaces it with something much more intimate. The balance of this creative choice, the vast texture of the Lexicon reverb over the gritty broken cassette preamp, creates a unique emotional impact on his studio recordings. It feels deeply familiar to the listener, but alien for a first listen. The nostalgia isn’t just a creative decision, it’s a mental bridge from his bizarre experiments to a recognisable, comfortable sound.
Mk.gee’s approach to music technology completely flips the script on how modern indie/pop artists can produce. By ignoring the rules and pushing machinery to its limit, he proves you don’t need expensive plugins or a high-end studio to make something groundbreaking. His whole sound relies on forcing these old tools to redline, choke, and glitch. He doesn’t see these technical errors as mistakes to be cleaned up in production, but as a way to inhibit human emotion and warmth into his tracks. By choosing curiosity over proper techniques, he transforms a cheap 4-track recorder into an explosive live amp and a forgotten guitar modeller into a beautiful, nostalgic synth.
This DIY, rule-breaking attitude has left a massive footprint on modern indie production. For years, amateur producers have relied on the same predictable laptop plugins to fake a vintage analog sound. Mk.gee ignores that formula entirely. He is inspiring a whole new generation of artists to dig up old gear, and embrace unpredictable experiments. His impact on the industry is already taking artists away from polished perfection and bringing back something human. You can hear his influence everywhere, with new artists like ‘Nickname Jos’ processing their instruments to sound intentionally broken or underwater. In conclusion, Mk.gee proves that true artistic integrity doesn’t have to come from a big budget. by taking cheap, recycled 80s technology and turning it into something so unique that musical legends are paying attention. He has rewritten the book of modern production – proving that the best parts of music usually live inside the mistakes.
https://www.hercampus.com/school/fsu/culture-how-mk-gee-is-redefining-a-new-generation-of-indie-music
https://www.trillmag.com/entertainment/music/the-mk-gee-fication-of-the-music-industry
https://www.roland.com/uk/products/vg-8
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/04/guitar-sounds-vg8/686807
