The Derrick Gee Method for Finding Amazing Music
A conversation with the influential “professional music fan” about his career, the art of developing taste, and why he’s allergic to AI and the algorithms.
- By: Hyunji Nam
- Photographed by: Sly Morikawa
The role of the critic has changed over the past decade, and nowhere is that influence felt more than in music. Today, individual creators can sometimes carry more weight than entire institutions, and among those shaping how we discover and listen is Derrick Gee, a Sydney-based creative who operates outside the old rules. “I call myself a professional music fan, he says. “I think traditionally, people would call me a content creator. Some people call me a music journalist.”
Top image: Derrick wears Still Kelly t-shirt and Saint Laurent sunglasses.
Across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Patreon, Derrick Gee speaks to an audience of over 1.3 million—numbers that rival many traditional music publications. A self-professed work in progress, Derrick is constantly evolving his content. Whether he's spotlighting niche genres like Budots (a Filipino dance and music movement) or breaking down the origins of a viral TikTok sound, like “Paging Dr. Emergency,” his platforms continue to grow in depth and reach.
Recently, his Sydney home/studio has welcomed the likes of Lorde, beabadoobee, St. Vincent, Jamie xx, composer Max Richter, and XL Recordings head Richard Russell, who have all stopped by to have a conversation with Derrick about music. The interviews don’t follow any traditional format. There are no PR talking points, no rehearsed soundbites—just a shared love for music powered by individual curiosity.
“Jamie xx is a DJ as well. DJs have USBs. Just bring the USB—that was the only brief,” Derrick recalls. Jamie played “Pig” by Villager and Waleed, a track most of us would never have stumbled upon on a streaming platform. “I think it was perfect because it represented who I am as a person in an interview setting,” Derrick says. “I’m passionate about music. I want to talk about music. I want to hear what they like.”
Before becoming a full-time content creator, Derrick Gee spent years moving between roles across the TV and music industries—working with TV production company Fremantle, the streaming platform Mixcloud, and curating music and culture events. His resume includes stints as creative director at 88rising, as well as manager and consultant for record labels and artists, toggling between full-time and freelance roles. Then, in 2022, he casually uploaded a video to social media.
“I posted a video in response to a trend that asked, ‘What is something that’s impressive to a niche audience but means nothing to anyone else?’ People started asking me all sorts of questions,” he says. “So I answered them. I started talking about my speakers, my music collection, and sharing playlists.” As his audience grew exponentially, so did his influence. By early 2024, Derrick took the leap into content creation full-time.
Derrick Gee isn’t just a presence online—he’s actively reimagining what music content can look like offline, too. This past June, he wrapped a successful four-city tour—Derrick Gee’s Radio Hour Tour—with stops in London, Paris, Hamburg, and Berlin. It wasn’t a DJ set, a live podcast, or even a typical listening session. As Derrick puts it, it was closer to a “music talk show,” where he simply plays songs he loves and tells the stories around them. “It’s a 90-minute live session,” he says. “I want to do a debate called ‘Ed Sheeran is the greatest artist of all time.’ I think it’s a really interesting discussion.”
We met Derrick at his studio-home in Sydney—the same space that has hosted some of today’s most respected musicians. For someone walking a path entirely on his own, we had a lot of questions.
Hyunji Nam
Derrick Gee
How did you first become interested in music? Tell me about your childhood.
I remembered that yesterday and thought my brain has always been thinking about society’s interaction with music, identity, and entertainment. I did a class called Society and Culture in high school and wrote a thesis on Australian Idol—why people enjoyed watching it even though they found it embarrassing and cringe. There’s this kind of clash between popular music consumption and something quite embarrassing and cheesy. In my high school music class, I did a performance on the Motown bass player James Jamerson. I gave a talk about him and then performed some of his pieces. So I’ve been thinking about the origins of certain influential music people since I was young.
You worked as a creative director at 88rising. How do you look back on that time?
It captured a really important moment when the world was getting smaller with the internet, and there was this large-scale record label company that was built on almost a dream or an ambition for Asian artists to be recognized for how talented they really are. And that captured the imagination of a lot of young Asian people—it especially inspired them. I worked there from 2019 to 2023. I tried to broaden the taste of those I worked with. It was a really nice time to be around a lot of inspiring, very talented Asian people because I wasn’t used to that. I worked in TV, and I was the only Asian person there, so to be amongst that changed me in many ways.
What made people gravitate to your platform? What was missing from magazines or other platforms?
It's positivity. It's knowledge and passion, and a personality that is non-judgmental. I'm not out to criticize anyone. If you think some album that I hate is the best album of all time, I'm very happy for you. Whereas on the internet, prior, it was usually Pitchfork. If you're a real, real music fan, you don't see albums as a list of rankings that need to be like hot or not, or in an A-tier or Z-tier. If it resonates with you, it resonates with you.
And there's a self-awareness because I have a creative background in clickbait. I'm very aware of not leaning into that too much. It becomes a bit of a trope to be like, “Oh, let me find the most obscure thing—oh, it's Japanese country music!” Whereas to me, I'd rather—I only want to share it if I really fuck with the music.
You don’t make any content about popular albums on the charts or Grammy winners.
If you look through our music history, the albums that mean something to people, it’s not the Grammy winners, rarely. It’s some random album that just persists because it’s so good that every generation adores it, you know.
Derrick wears Still Kelly t-shirt and Saint Laurent sunglasses.
How do you dig into these mostly unknown songs?
I guess my antenna is stronger than most people’s. It's an open-mindedness to everything and anything. I discount the popular songs because they are not special songs. I don’t think those are the songs the artists put the most time into. They chose those because they were the ones that would reach the most mainstream ears, whereas the songs they actually love are usually the least popular ones. So often, I’m trying to look for the least popular things.
Are there any genres or sub-genres that you're excited to see trend for the rest of this year?
Dub is kind of slowly making a comeback. Trip-hop has, in the last two years, become a much more mainstream sound. You know, everyone from Billie Eilish to Doja Cat has trip-hop songs. On the underground, there are really cool trip-hop artists. Erika de Casier has done a trip-hop, and Kiss Facility has done a trip-hop.
Dub is a bit harder to wrap your head around. It comes from the Caribbean and from reggae, so it might be a bit harder to access. But then, like, a group called Fcukers—their song “I Don't Wanna”—has a sound that’s quite dubby. It’s a lot more British dub in terms of being in the more mainstream space. But I can see that bubbling, and it might take a couple of years to get to someone like Billie Eilish. But it's a really cool genre that more people are starting to catch on to.
Has AI helped you explore old archives or discover music in any certain way?
No. The last time I used it was to summarize a document that I'd written. I've never used an algorithmic playlist. I don't want it to tell me what I should like. And maybe that's the real question about music discovery and how I find music: I'm resistant to being told what to like. AI algorithm suggestions—I’m allergic to them. And [not using AI] actually helps, because it defines more of my own taste.
What do you think about the current algorithm on music platforms?
They're actually suffering because music is so consumable. This is why my platforms continue to grow. Why are people looking at me? It’s because they want to be told emotionally why they should care about something. You can go onto Spotify, and it can say “The 13 Most Interesting Korean Artists” playlist, and you’re like—according to who? Usually, it's just random. We have access to so much music that it’s very hard for anything to mean anything. That’s why I’m very aggressive about it being personal.
Derrick wears Still Kelly hoodie and Saint Laurent sunglasses.
Have you noticed any interesting new ways music is being released or marketed lately?
I think from my observation, artists are either struggling a lot or they're changing their approach. You need a label less than ever. You need to know how to make moments and scale. There are no rules anymore. Anyone who follows the traditional rules of like single, single, single, album—or a surprise album drop—none of it really works. Almost nothing works. It's more about: do you believe in the music? And if you do, then... You have to find a way to get the audience to care about it.
More than ever, the people who really love their music and want to contribute to the species, almost, will succeed. Artists can't just manufacture being cool. You actually have to feel like you're innovating. Take 2hollis, for example—what they’re doing is truly exciting and capturing people. The energy is so electric. It’s like they love what they do, they want to share it with their audience, and they're doing stuff that really challenges people. A hardcore band Turnstile, is like, “If you like us and you're a hardcore fan, you're going to like this. I don't care.” And that makes it cool.
Who’s your dream guest to invite to your show?
People who don’t do interviews, like Yves Tumor or Dean Blunt. Selfishly, I would love to have a lot of “heritage” acts, like Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon, or Joni Mitchell. I just want to talk with Joni Mitchell and play music with her and see what her ear is like, you know? As opposed to a very dramatic sit-down interview, where we’ve got to say significant things.
What’s your advice for content creators?
I get asked by a lot of young people, “How do I? Where do I? I’m stuck.” And we all know—deep down—what we need to do. I did community radio for free. I did NTS Radio for free. I did all my radio shows for free. I moved around the world doing different things.
As long as you really have something to contribute and you have something of value that you feel is original, that you want to share with the world, then follow that. But that doesn’t mean quitting your job. It doesn’t mean this path I’m on should be for anyone else. Anyone who has known me long enough knows that I have talked about these same things and shared these songs and playlists with friends and family my whole life. Everyone has that core essence of who they are.
- By: Hyunji Nam
- Photographed by: Sly Morikawa
- Date: July 15, 2025
