For a man of great mystique, Mk.Gee made quite the entrance. On command, he stepped out of the fog wearing a Jack Daniels T-shirt, clutching his guitar. A beam of light pierced through and cast a shadow over the shaggy-haired man, the sea of crowded heads beneath now bathed in his white light, hostage to his brilliance.

Though no one saw Mk.Gee coming, we can’t deny how his monumental talent has marked the contemporary music scene. Born Michael Todd Gordon, Mk.Gee keeps a notoriously low profile. His face can be traced to his involvement in singer/songwriter Dijion’s 2021 album Absolutely; he was the wild-haired guitarist on stage, always tied to Dijion’s side. The two were an electric performance duo, though Mk.Gee acted as more of a sidekick to Dijion’s powerhouse vocals. As for his preceding solo projects, the foundations were always there but relied on clean production and familiar patterns—a sound on the verge of finding its force. Mk.Gee’s last full-length project was the 2020 mixtape A Museum of Contradiction, which surfed between genres of indie electronic, R&B and dream pop. 

The time he took off between 2020 and 2024 to refine his personal style certainly paid off. Moody and meditative, Two Star & The Dream Police’s textured melodies and synths mesmerise listeners. The artist’s vocals flaunt evolution; much like the roaringly vulnerable vocals of Dijon, he sings with a new and uncanny range, shifting from coos to wails to murmurs. The album rose to success through word-of-mouth raving. Amongst the acclaim of big-name critics lived the fervent gatekeepers, desperate to keep the 28-year-old alt-rock prodigy a secret. The only challenge that follows the success of such a sonically hybrid record is translating all its appeal to the live stage. 

Opening his show at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre, Mk.Gee serenaded with the seraphic ballad “How Many Miles.” As he cooed softly, he ripped at his baritone guitar. Avid fans and musicians alike have sought to uncover the secret to his sound, scouring online for the instrumental tools he tinkers with to create his unusual tones, tempos and textures. He is our generation’s guitar hero, fiercely leading a cohort of reverent and eager dreamers. 

Mk.Gee performed a deconstructed rendition of the bellowing hit “Rylee and I”. In this song, his blistered vocals gleam without restraint. Imperfections in his cracked voice competed with an out-of-tune guitar melody, fouling a sonic mess. This auditory chaos summarises the full-length album itself; the structure of most songs is undone and cluttered, much like a demo track. Two Star and The Dream Police is also largely unscripted, encouraging listeners to prescribe their own meaning to its enigmatic form. The album lingers in its faint familiarity, yet is stubbornly singular in its vision. It begs to not be replicated.

As the opening chords to Mk.Gee’s most recent single “ROCKMAN” were strung, the crowd was called to move. Mk.Gee’s strained vocals were reminiscent of the haunting inflections of Phil Collins. Much of his sound is tainted by an 1980’s influence of upbeat rhythms and harmonious choruses. He crows, almost in agony: Can't see you, but I see what you're saying – The little moves that you're making. Every word that escapes is sung with urgency, as if shouting for reason. What, exactly, does he want to share? With a melody so irresistibly catchy, it hardly matters. Mk.Gee is a soulful singer; his vocals wrap you in a violent, vehement blanket of sound.

Mk.Gee chose to play his boppy track “DNM” three times in a row (and once more in an encore if we’re counting), much to the enjoyment of the crowd, who broke into an infectious groove on cue. Maybe more artists should take themselves as unseriously as Mk.Gee, who seemed amused by the reaction each time. 

The tender tune “Are You Looking Up” thrust every hand in the air, every lyric lined in hope. In a 2020 Lithium magazine interview, the artist recited that the records that influence his noise “really lean strongly into the paradox of what they are.” “I don’t necessarily fit into a lane perfectly,” he reflects, “I haven’t really found a pre-existing group to find personal meaning in.” 

Mk.Gee's conviction in his craft is the only thing he knows how to sell. He exudes effortlessness, convincing us that perhaps standing out is easiest for him. Behind his mysticism and subtlety, behind the titles and fame, the guitar thrashing and soul-singing, is a man that makes noise to feel heard. His magnetic presence has the world under his spell.