Mk.gee

Michael Todd Gordon, better known by his stage name Mk.gee, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist. His career began in 2017 with the release of his debut single "I Know How You Get". In 2018, he released two EPs, ''Pronounced McGee'' and ''Fool'', followed by his debut mixtape '' A Museum of Contradiction'' in 2020. In 2024, Gordon released his debut studio album ''Two Star & the Dream Police''. Aside from his own work, Gordon has worked as songwriter and producer with various artists, including Dijon, Omar Apollo, Kacy Hill and Fred Again.

Early life

Gordon is originally from southern New Jersey. His interest in music began when he was around 6 or 7 when he took piano lessons. When he was 11, he started learning to play guitar. In high school, Gordon joined a band with some of his schoolmates. However, he preferred to play alone and began to record his own demos, playing all the instruments by himself. After graduating high school, Gordon moved to Los Angeles to attend the USC Thornton School of Music, but dropped out before graduating.

Career

Solo music career

Gordon released his debut single "I Know How You Get" in 2017. The single was then included on his debut EP ''Pronounced McGee'', released on May 18, 2018, along with three other singles "Roll with the Punches", "Over Here", and "You". In the same year, Gordon released his second EP ''Fool'' on November 25, preceded by the single "New Year".

On May 22, 2020, Gordon released his first mixtape '' A Museum of Contradiction''. The mixtape was promoted by the single "cz", which was released on February 22, 2020. Rhys Buchanan, a writer from '' NME'', praised the mixtape, giving a four out of five stars rating, and wrote: "As acknowledged with the mixtape title, this release merges genres from different worlds with both maturity and ease. Mk.gee is an artist with a natural ability to pair his emotional palette with vast musicality. A release that feels like an important stepping stone – you sense stardom is looming large here."

On February 9, 2024, Gordon released his debut album ''Two Star & the Dream Police'' to critical acclaim. The album was supported by five singles: "Candy", "How Many Miles", "Are You Looking Up", "You Got It", and "Dream Police". Gordon also embarked on an 18-show tour in North America to promote the album. On April 11, 2024, Gordon made his debut television performance on the late-night talk show ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', performing "Are You Looking Up". All four releases of Gordon have been home-produced by himself. On May 15, 2024, Gordon surpassed 1 million active monthly listeners on Spotify for the first time.

Songwriting and producing

Apart from producing songs for himself, Gordon has also produced for other artists, such as Omar Apollo and Dijon, for which he co-produced the former's mixtape ''Apolonio'' (2020) and the latter's debut album '' Absolutely'' (2021). In 2021, "Mountains", performed by Charlotte Day Wilson and co-written by Gordon was sampled in the track "Fair Trade" by Drake featuring Travis Scott from the album '' Certified Lover Boy''. In 2023, Gordon produced and co-wrote the track "Kids Are Growing Up (Part 1)" by The Kid Laroi from his debut album '' The First Time''. In 2024, Gordon co-wrote the tracks ".One" and ".Ten" by Fred Again from his album ''Ten Days.''

Artistry

Gordon's musical genres have been described as indie, alternative, lo-fi, experimental indie, R&B, and soft- psychedelia. His musical influences include Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Perfume Genius, Taj Mahal, The Black Keys, Sly Stone, Larry Graham, Grouper, Julianna Barwick, and Down to Earth.

Gordon has been highly regarded for his technical ability, composition, and creative experimentation on the guitar, and being credited with developing an original style of instrumentation. In May 2024, when asked about modern guitarists who excite him, Clapton mentioned Gordon, commenting that he is "unique" and that "He has found things to do on the guitar that are like nobody else. ..And he can do it live." Clapton also compared Gordon's "innovative style" to that of Prince "when ecame on the scene".

Tours

Headlining

* '' Inside Each of Us Are Two Stars Tour'' (2023)
* '' Two Star & the Dream Police North American Tour'' (2024)
* '' Two Star & the Dream Police World Tour'' (2024)

Opening

* ''Nothing Happens Tour'' (2019)
* '' The Voyager Tour'' (2019)

Touring band members

* Andrew Aged – lead and rhythm guitar (2023–present)
* Zack Sekoff – drums, percussion, samples, bass (2023–present)

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

EPs

Singles

Songwriting and production credits

References

{{reflist

Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American multi-instrumentalists
American record producers
American indie pop musicians
Singer-songwriters from Washington (state)
Songwriters from New Jersey
USC Thornton School of Music alumni
Interscope Records artists
Iamsound Records artists
Lo-fi musicians
1997 births