Cinematic alt-pop rock, ambient, and new age. Producer. Composer.
Works in Progress
Sneak peek at what I'm working on. Listen to these tracks on SoundCloud.
Not Just Us (Demo)
Stand on My Shoulders (Demo)
That's Not Us (Demo)
Tripped Over Alice (Demo)
I know my new album is set for release tomorrow (May 24th) but I can't stop writing. This one started as a story about losing yourself down a rabbit hole, which is so easy to do these days. It turned into a song about someone who wants to hide from society, even from themselves, but they find others (Alice?) doing exactly the same thing.
Videos
Latest videos from the channel.
About
Mark Z80 (Mark Freedman) didn't start making music until three days before his 60th birthday. What began as a suggestion from his wife during the pandemic — “Why don't you get a MIDI controller and try making music for our YouTube channel?” — has turned into a full-blown second career.
Before that, Mark had spent nearly 40 years as a software engineer. His life was about precision, structure, and solving hard problems with logic. Though he had always dreamed of doing something in music, he assumed it would be from the tech side. He was a lifelong music fan, an extremely active listener, but never a performer or songwriter.
That changed in 2021. From the very beginning, it felt natural, like something waiting to happen. Mark started writing loops for the channel but quickly began expanding into full songs. It wasn't just a hobby. It was a flood of bottled-up creativity finally being let out.
As of 2025, Mark has released nine full-length albums in just four years, covering everything from ambient, cinematic, new-age, and classical styles to 80s-present-influenced alt-pop-rock. Despite not being able to sing (anymore), he writes every lyric and note himself, using Synthesizer V and Emvoice to bring his vocal melodies to life.
His process is deeply intuitive. Mark often begins composing between 3:30 and 5:30 AM, when his analytical brain is still asleep and his creative mind is at its most open. As he puts it, “The music writes itself.”
Mark's background in software has helped him in the technical side of production, but music has also taught him to let go of perfectionism. He no longer believes in “final” versions of songs. Instead, he treats each track as a living thing; something to sculpt, explore, and revisit when needed.
Though largely self-taught, Mark studies other music obsessively, from MIDI velocity in piano tracks to orchestration techniques for cinematic scoring. He's taken formal courses through sites like ThinkSpace, and experiments constantly with harmony, counter-melodies, stereo layering, and sound design. Every album he releases (except for a special charity project) contains exactly 13 tracks, a nod to his favorite artist and his love of thoughtful structure.
Mark credits his wife Lorri, his daughter, family, and close friends for encouraging and inspiring him throughout his journey. He also draws from a lifetime of musical influences and emotional experiences, including the music of Taylor Swift, whose folklore album was one of the emotional triggers that helped unlock his creative side during the pandemic.
Now 64, Mark is preparing to retire from software sooner rather than later, and devote himself fully to music. He's already written over 160 original songs and continues to compose constantly, usually finishing one or two new songs before his latest album is even released. He writes to process life, to make sense of emotion, and to finally live as the artist he never knew he could be.
Contact
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