MGT

Mark Gemini Thwaite stands out as an English guitarist, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter whose career spans performances, collaborations, and recordings with an extensive list of acts such as the Mission, Peter Murphy, Tricky, Revolting Cocks, Gary Numan, and PJ Harvey. Born in Birmingham, he first played in local bands prior to his 1989 move to London, where he entered the goth rock outfit the Children alongside former Sex Gang Children frontman Dave Roberts. He subsequently linked up with Kirk Brandon from Theatre of Hate and entered Spear of Destiny, contributing to the band’s 1992 album Sod’s Law. Later the same year he became part of the Mission, releasing multiple studio albums with the group until his departure in 2001. Throughout that period he simultaneously collaborated with trip-hop artist Tricky across three studio albums plus one EP.

In 2002 Thwaite launched New Disease and secured a contract with Universal, yet corporate changes led to the project’s cancellation, delaying the release of debut Patent Life until 2014. He shifted to Los Angeles in 2005 and became a member of Peter Murphy’s touring ensemble, supporting the Bauhaus singer’s seventh studio album Unshattered; during the same stretch he rejoined the Mission for dates across Europe and South Africa. His association with Murphy continued through 2015, including work on the 2011 release Ninth. In 2013 he joined industrial supergroup Primitive Race, whose lineup drew from Revolting Cocks, Faith No More, KMFDM, Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb, and Pop Will Eat Itself; the collective delivered its self-titled debut in 2015 and followed with Soul Pretender two years afterward.

Thwaite inked a deal with SPV Records in 2016 and issued his first solo effort under the MGT name. The guest-heavy album Volumes included contributions from Ville Valo of HIM, Wayne Hussey of the Mission, Ricky Warwick of Black Star Riders, and Miles Hunt alongside Erica Nockalls of the Wonder Stuff. Cleopatra Records put out the follow-up Gemini Nyte in 2018.