Black Midi (stylized as black midi) are an English rock band from London, formed in 2017. Their most recent line-up consisted of lead vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Geordie Greep and Cameron Picton, along with drummer Morgan Simpson. Between 2017 and 2020, the band also included guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin. Following his departure, the trio were frequently joined by multi-instrumentalist Seth Evans and saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi, both as session musicians and during live performances. Their name is derived from the Japanese electronic music genre black MIDI, though their own music has no relation to it, instead incorporating styles such as math rock, progressive rock, post-punk, and avant-jazz.[1]
Black Midi | |
|---|---|
 Black Midi performing at Wide Awake Festival 2021. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England, UK |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2017–2024 (indefinite hiatus) |
| Labels | |
| Members |
|
| Past members | Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin |
| Website | bmblackmidi |
The band began on producer Dan Carey's record label Speedy Wunderground, through which they released their debut single, "bmbmbm", in 2018. They released their debut studio album, Schlagenheim, produced by Carey, on 21 June 2019, through Rough Trade Records. It received critical acclaim,[2] entered the top 50 of the UK Albums Chart, and was nominated for the 2019 Mercury Prize. An anthology album including several recorded jams and spoken-word tracks, The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge, was released on 5 June 2020 exclusively to Bandcamp. In January 2021, founding member Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin went on hiatus from the group for health reasons. The band's second studio album, Cavalcade, was released on 26 May 2021. Their third studio album, Hellfire, was released on 15 July 2022.[3] The band entered an indefinite hiatus in August 2024, with each member focusing on solo work.[4]
History
editFormation and first singles (2015–2019)
editPrior to the formation of the band, Geordie Greep had separate jam sessions with Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin and Morgan Simpson, all of whom (alongside Cameron Picton) were attending BRIT School.[5] Simpson was an accomplished drummer, coming from a Jamaican musical family and winning the "Young Drummer of the Year" award in 2014.[6] In 2016 Greep and Kwasniewski-Kelvin enlisted Simpson to form a band, with Greep and Kwasniewski-Kelvin on guitar and vocals, and with Simpson on drums. Picton joined later, on bass guitar, to complete the line-up.[7] The band played their first gig at Brixton's The Windmill on 12 June 2017, supporting the band Leg Puppy,[8] and would go on to have a residency at the venue.[9][10]
On 8 June 2018, the group released their debut single, titled "bmbmbm", on producer Dan Carey's record label Speedy Wunderground.[11] On 26 September 2018, a cassette was released featuring segments of a performance with Damo Suzuki which took place on 5 May 2018 at The Windmill. On 9 November 2018, Black Midi performed five songs from their then untitled upcoming album, live at Kex Hostel in Reykjavik, Iceland, during the music festival Iceland Airwaves.[12] The eccentric performance, which was recorded for the Seattle radio station KEXP, was praised online and became popular on YouTube, exposing the band to listeners internationally.[13][14] The band contributed the song "Ice Cream" featuring Jerskin Fendrix on vocals for a Brixton Hillbilly compilation album, released 7 December 2018.[15] On 23 January 2019, the group released their second single, "Speedway". A 12" vinyl record was released featuring remixes by Proc Fiskal, Kwake Bass, and Blanck Mass.[16]
Schlagenheim and other projects (2019–2020)
edit
In January 2019 the group announced that they had signed to Rough Trade Records. The group released two singles on the label in March and April 2019, "Crows Perch" and "Talking Heads" respectively. On 14 May, the group announced their debut album titled Schlagenheim, which was released 21 June 2019. The album was recorded in 2018 with producer Dan Carey, who became impressed by the band at an early live show.[17] Instead of merely recreating their live show, they chose to augment their sound with piano, accordion, synthesisers, banjo, and drum machines. "The idea was to do stuff that's impossible to do live", frontman Greep explained. "If the album and the gig are just the same, it's a bit sad."[14] The majority of the album was recorded in just five days.[18] At Metacritic, a website that assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Schlagenheim received a score of 82, based on 20 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[2] The album was later nominated for the 2019 Mercury Prize.[19]
On 7 March 2020, the band performed live at the BBC Radio 6 Music festival in Camden.[20] In June 2020, the band released a jam and spoken word album via Bandcamp entitled The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge, consisting of four short stories read by the members of the band over jam instrumentals as well as three instrumental mixes mostly taken from the same recordings as the spoken word tracks.[21][22] On 16 June 2020, the band began hosting a monthly radio show called The Black Midi Variety Hour on NTS Radio. Six episodes have been produced so far.[23] On 10 December 2020, the band performed a show with the group Black Country, New Road under the alias Black Midi, New Road as a charity gig for live venue The Windmill, Brixton. The show was livestreamed from The Windmill's Bandcamp page with an entry fee of £5. The group have performed under the Black Midi, New Road moniker at the venue before.[24]
Kwasniewski-Kelvin's departure, Cavalcade and Hellfire (2021–2023)
editOn 15 January 2021, Black Midi announced through social media that their guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin had been taking time off from the band due to mental health issues and that he is not featured on forthcoming material from the band.[25] The band announced their second studio album, Cavalcade, on 23 March 2021, which was released on 26 May 2021.[26] On the day of the announcement, they also released the album's lead single, "John L", backed with the non-album track "Despair".[27] Kwasniewski-Kelvin appears on the album only as composer on a couple of tracks; he was not part of the recording process. Touring members Akinnibi and Evans were a part of the album's recording sessions.[26] A second single, "Slow", was released on 28 April and coincided with a second KEXP performance released the same day. This performance features Evans and Akinnibi as well as a small brass section.[28]
The band toured Europe and the US in throughout 2021 and 2022.[29][30] The band has also opened for themselves at concerts as an alter ego group known as Orange Tree Boys, touted as a funk blues band from Las Vegas.[31]
On 22 March 2022, the band released the digital EP Cavalcovers, a collection of cover versions of songs by King Crimson, Taylor Swift and Captain Beefheart originally released as flexi-disc bonus records with pre-ordered vinyl copies of Cavalcade.[32]
On 9 May 2022, they released "Welcome to Hell", the lead single from their third album, Hellfire. They released "Eat Men Eat", the second single from the album, on 15 June 2022. On 12 July, the third single, "Sugar/Tzu", was released. Hellfire was released on 15 July 2022 and charted at No. 22 in the United Kingdom, their highest placement yet. It also became their first album to chart in the United States, reaching No. 139.
In the autumn of 2022, Black Midi announced the "Back in Black Tour" supported by Black Country, New Road in the United States.[33] The band continued to debut unreleased material on this tour, including the songs "The Magician" and "Askance".[34]
Indefinite hiatus and solo projects (2024)
editOn 10 August 2024, while on an Instagram Live promoting a series of solo concerts, Geordie Greep responded to questions about new Black Midi material by typing "no more black midi" and "It’s iver" [sic] into the chat, also claiming that "Black Midi was an interesting band that’s now indefinitely over", prompting speculation about the band's status. Bassist Cameron Picton confirmed the split on Twitter, admitting that the band "agreed not to say anything about 'breaking up'" and that he was blindsided by Greep's comments.[35][36]
Pitchfork confirmed via the band's management that the group "are on a hiatus for now while they are working on solo projects."[4] The Quietus received a further statement, clarifying that the band "agreed to have a break and do some solo work, with the understanding the Black Midi door be left open."[37] Greep later admitted that the band "hadn’t really been on speaking terms as a band a while before that". Black Midi had internally split before the announcement, but opted not to say anything publicly because, according to Greep, "In a few months it’ll be obvious, and we won’t need to say anything about it. But then it became apparent that wasn’t really the case. People were all the time saying, ’What’s happening?’ I thought… who cares? Let’s just say it. It’s over – I don’t want to string anyone along."[38] In a subsequent interview, Greep expressed hesitancy regarding management's statement about the door being left open.[39]
Greep quickly announced a solo album, The New Sound, which was released on 4 October 2024 and produced by Black Midi session member Seth Evans.[40] Simpson became the touring and recording drummer for experimental jazz musician Nala Sinephro, appearing on her second studio album, Endlessness, released on September 6, 2024. He also performed on The New Sound.[41] Picton began to record under the pseudonym Camera Picture, self-releasing two mixtapes of solo material on Bandcamp, titled 44m50s and 36m33s, respectively.[42]
Musical style
editThe band's sound has been variously labelled as experimental rock,[43][44][45] art rock,[46] progressive rock,[47][48] math rock,[48][49][50] post-punk,[51] and avant-prog.[52][53]
Members
editCurrent members
- Geordie Greep – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass (2017–present)
- Morgan Simpson – drums, percussion (2017–present)
- Cameron Picton – lead vocals, bass, synthesizers, sampler, guitar (2017–present)
Past member
- Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin – guitar, occasional lead vocals (2017–2020)
Touring and session musicians
- Seth Evans – bass, keyboards, synthesizers (2020–2024)
- Kaidi Akinnibi – tenor and soprano saxophones (2020–2022)[54]
Timeline
edit
- Black Midi performing at Rough Trade, London, 25th June 2019
-
Cameron Picton -
Geordie Greep -
Morgan Simpson -
Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [55] |
AUS [56] |
BEL (FL) [57] |
JPN [58] |
SCO [59] |
US [60] |
US Indie [61] | ||
| Schlagenheim |
|
43 | — | 113 | 211 | 40 | — | 41 |
| Cavalcade |
|
60 | 81 | 66 | 62 | 18 | — | 48 |
| Hellfire |
|
22 | 45 [63] |
90 | 58 | 7 | 139 | 15 |
Compilations
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge |
|
| Covercade |
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| BM Xmas Covers |
|
| Cavalcovers |
|
Live albums/EPs
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Damo Suzuki Live at the Windmill Brixton with 'Sound Carriers' black midi (with Damo Suzuki) |
|
| Live at KEXP |
|
| Live on Canal St, NYC ('The Pizza EP') |
|
| Black Midi Live in the USA |
|
| Live-Cade |
|
| Live Fire |
|
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "bmbmbm" | 2018 | Schlagenheim |
| "Speedway" | 2019 | |
| "Crow's Perch" | Non-album singles | |
| "Talking Heads"[64] | ||
| "Ducter"[65] | Schlagenheim | |
| "7-Eleven" | Non-album singles | |
| "Sweater" | 2020 | |
| "John L / Despair" | 2021 | Cavalcade |
| "Slow (Loud)" | ||
| "Chondromalacia Patella" | ||
| "Cruising" | Non-album single | |
| "Welcome to Hell"[62] | 2022 | Hellfire |
| "Eat Men Eat" | ||
| "Sugar/Tzu" |
Other appearances
edit| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Ice Cream" (with Jerskin Fendrix) | It's Briiiiiixmaaaaaas! |
| "Of Rivia (Live)" | Independent Venue Week (Live 2018) | |
| 2020 | "bmbmbm (Live)" "Extended Jam (Live)" (with Black Country, New Road as "black midi, new road") |
Live at The Windmill |
| "953 (Live)" | Live at Windmill Brixton - In Between the Lockdowns |
Music videos
edit| Title | Year | Album | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Speedway" | 2019 | Schlagenheim | Cameron Picton[66] |
| "Crow's Perch" | — | Vilhjálmur Yngvi Hjálmarsson | |
| "Ducter" | Schlagenheim | Anthony Macbain and Roxie Vizcarra | |
| "John L" | 2021 | Cavalcade | Nina McNeely |
| "Slow" | Gustaf Holtenäs | ||
| "Chondromalacia Patella" | Vilhjálmur Yngvi Hjálmarsson | ||
| "Welcome To Hell" | 2022 | Hellfire | Gustaf Holtenäs |
| "Eat Men Eat" | Maxim Kelly | ||
| "Sugar/Tzu" | Noel Paul |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | AIM Independent Music Awards | UK Independent Breakthrough | Black Midi | Nominated | [67] |
| 2020 | Libera Awards | Marketing Genius | Schlagenheim | Nominated | [68] |
| 2021 | Mercury Prize | Album of the Year | Nominated | [19] | |
| 2022 | UK Music Video Awards | Best Alternative Video - UK | "Sugar/Tzu" | Nominated | [69] |
| "Eat Men Eat" | Nominated | ||||
| Best Editing in a Video | Nominated | ||||
| "Sugar/Tzu" | Nominated | ||||
| Best Cinematography in a Video | Won | ||||
| Best Animation in a Video | "Welcome to Hell" | Nominated | |||
| 2023 | Libera Awards | Best Heavy Record | Hellfire | Won | [70] [71] |
| Best Short-Form Video | Hellfire TikTok Promotion | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ Bekki, Bemrose. "Black Midi Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Schlagenheim by Black Midi Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Black Midi Announce New Album Hellfire and Tour, Share Song". Pitchfork. 9 May 2022.
- ^ a b Monroe, Jazz; Strauss, Matthew (12 August 2024). "Black Midi Go on Hiatus as Geordie Greep Says Band Is "Indefinitely Over"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ Leas, Ryan (20 March 2019). "Band to Watch: Black Midi". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ Nuta, Sara (22 July 2022). "Inside the worldbuilding of Black Midi". fr-nt.net.
- ^ Connick, Tom. "Inside the buzz of Black Midi". Crackmagazine.net. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ Mitchell, Matt (15 July 2022). "black midi Rage on as Hellfire Rises". Paste. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ "Sonic bm #10 - the house band at The Windmill, Brixton, London on 12 Jun 2021". 12 June 2021.
- ^ Wray, Daniel Dylan. "The Road To The Best Ever: Black Midi Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Renshaw, David. "Get ready for Black Midi to blow you away with "bmbmbm"". Thefader.com. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "black midi – Full Performance (Live on KEXP)". YouTube. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "KEXP Live at Iceland Airwaves 2018, Day 4: Black Midi". Kexp.com. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Get to Know black midi, a New Type of British Guitar Band". Pitchfork. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "The Quietus | News | LISTEN: Black Midi & Jerskin Fendrix Collab for Xmas Album".
- ^ Connick, Tom (31 January 2019). "Black Midi are back with 'Speedway' – and the UK's weirdest band are only getting weirder". NME. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "Get to Know black midi, a New Type of British Guitar Band". Pitchfork. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Black Midi Announce Debut Album Schlagenheim". Paste. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ a b Bloom, Madison; Monroe, Jazz (25 July 2019). "Mercury Prize 2019 Shortlist: The 1975, slowthai, Black Midi, More". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ "Black Midi, Nadine Shah and Brittany Howard @ 6 Music Festival". 10 March 2020.
- ^ Martin, Josh (6 June 2020). "Black Midi share jam spoken word album The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge". NME. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Kaye, Ben (5 June 2020). "black midi Read Classic Short Stories on New Album Tales of Suspense and Revenge: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "The Black Midi Variety Hour". nts.live. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Black Midi and Black Country, New Road cover Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen and more in livestreamed gig". nme.com. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Black Midi's Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin shares statement explaining recent absence from the band due to mental health issues". NME. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b Yoo, Noah (23 March 2021). "black midi Announce New Album Cavalcade, Share Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ Kenneally, Cerys (23 March 2021). "black midi announce second album Cavalcade". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ Hopkins, Scott (2 May 2021). "black midi: Your Brain Through a Cheese Grater". Music Fest News. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "black midi announce fall 2021 North American tour, share new song "Slow"". Consequence. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Sacher, Adam (19 May 2021). "black midi release new song, announce new tour dates, listening party, & a unique contest". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Robins-Somerville, Grace (25 October 2021). "This Is the Scene on 11th Street When Black Midi Comes to Town Concert Review". Swim Into the Sound. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Robinson, Ellie (23 March 2022). "Black Midi cover Taylor Swift, King Crimson and Captain Beefheart for Cavalcovers EP". NME. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Hatfield, Amanda (7 June 2022). "Black Country, New Road announce tour (including shows with black midi)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "black midi residency – Village Underground, London". Echoes And Dust. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ Murray, Robin (11 August 2024). "black midi Have Split Up". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ Molloy, Laura (11 August 2024). "Black Midi are "indefinitely over" confirms bassist and frontman". NME. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ Turner, Luke (12 August 2024). "Black Midi Split". The Quietus. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ Rigotti, Alex (4 September 2024). "Geordie Greep talks 'The New Sound' and Black Midi split". NME. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ "Geordie Greep on His Solo Career, Bad Music Videos, and the Truth Behind the black midi Breakup". Last Donut of the Night. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (20 August 2024). "Black Midi's Geordie Greep Announces Tour and Debut Solo Album, Shares New Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ Empire, Kitty (6 September 2024). "Nala Sinephro: Endlessness review – cosmic jazz musician's cycle-of-life meditation". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "black midi appear to have broken up". Consequence. 12 August 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Cubbison, Jeff (22 November 2019). "Review: Black Midi at Zebulon". Impose. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Enis, Eli (23 March 2021). "black midi Announce New Album Cavalcade, Share "John L": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ Kinnett, Tristan (23 March 2021). "black midi Announces New Album Cavalcade for May 2021 Release and Detail the Demise of a Cult Leader in New Video for "John L"". MXDWN. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ Kearse, Stephen. "Review: black midi - Live Fire". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Lockett, Mac (28 May 2021). "black midi Delivers Punishing Dynamics & Edgy Prog On 'Cavalcade' (Album Review)". Glide. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ a b Russell, Scott (26 May 2021). "Listen to black midi's New Album Cavalcade, Surprise-Released Early". Paste. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ "Black Midi Share New Track 'Talking Heads' | Gigwise". Gigwise.com. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Segal, Dave. "Math Rockers Doing Big Numbers". The Stranger. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Black Midi – "Talking Heads"". Spin. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Black Midi: Cavalcade review – freakish parade of prog-jazz extremity". The Guardian. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ Paste Staff (1 August 2022). "The 10 Best Albums of July 2022". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "black midi 2020 tour". black midi. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Black Midi | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 7 June 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1631. Australian Recording Industry Association. 7 June 2021. p. 6.
- ^ "Discografie Black Midi". Ultratop. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ "ブラック・ミディの作品". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ Peaks in Scotland:
- Schlagenheim: "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 | 28 June 2019 – 04 July 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- Cavalcade: "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 | 04 June 2021 – 10 June 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- Hellfire: "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 | 22 July 2022 – 28 July 2022". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ @billboardcharts (25 July 2022). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (2/2)..." (Tweet). Retrieved 26 July 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Black Midi Independent Albums Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ a b Rettig, James (9 May 2022). "Black Midi Announce New Album Hellfire, Share 'Welcome To Hell'". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "black midi Announce New Album Schlagenheim". Pitchfork. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "black midi – Ducter". Retrieved 23 August 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ @RoughTradeRecs (1 February 2019). "Hear our new signing Black Midi's EP "Speedway", accompanied by visuals from bassist Cameron Picton" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 August 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Malt, Andy (24 July 2019). "AIM announces 2019 Independent Music Award Nominees". Complete Music Update. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ Brandle, Lars (2 April 2020). "Chance the Rapper, FKA Twigs, Courtney Barnett & More Shortlisted For 2020 A2IM Libera Awards". Billboard. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "UK Music Video Awards 2022: all the nominations for this year's UKMVAs". Promonews. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ Aswad, Jem (22 March 2023). "Wet Leg Leads Nominations for A2IM's Indie Libera Awards". Variety. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Garcia, Thania; Okusanya, Emanuel (16 June 2023). "Wet Leg, Sudan Archives and More Win Big at 2023 A2IM Libera Awards". Variety. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
External links
edit- Official website
- Black Midi discography at Discogs