# Black Midi
**Black Midi** (stylised black midi) were an English experimental rock band from London, formed in 2017, whose sound combined post-punk, math rock, jazz fusion, and progressive rock. The band consisted of [Geordie Greep](https://www.edgepedia.org/geordie-greep) (guitar, vocals), [Cameron Picton](https://www.edgepedia.org/cameron-picton) (bass, vocals), and Morgan Simpson (drums), with founding guitarist [Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-kwasniewski-kelvin) appearing on their 2019 debut album before leaving the group in early 2021.[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26) They released three albums on Rough Trade, Schlagenheim (2019), Cavalcade (2021), and Hellfire (2022), before going on indefinite hiatus in August 2024.[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed 2017 in London; members met at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26) |
| Members | Geordie Greep (guitar, vocals), Cameron Picton (bass, vocals), Morgan Simpson (drums); founding guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin left in January 2021[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26) • [2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/) |
| Albums | Schlagenheim (2019), Cavalcade (2021), Hellfire (2022), all on Rough Trade[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/) |
| Recognition | Schlagenheim was shortlisted for the 2019 Mercury Prize[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26) |
| Genres | Math rock, experimental rock, post-punk, alternative/indie rock[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/schlagenheim-mw0003283103) |
| Scene | Central band of the "Windmill scene" around The Windmill in Brixton, alongside Black Country New Road, Squid, and Fontaines D.C.[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26) |
| Status | On indefinite hiatus since August 2024[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/) |
## Name and formation
The name refers to black MIDI, described in the band's press bio as "a Japanese music genre where a MIDI file is stuffed with so many musical notes that its visual representation looks solid black"[4](https://stereogum.com/2192940/black-midi-hellfire/reviews/premature-evaluation).
The four members met at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, multi-instrumentalist Geordie Greep, and drummer Morgan Simpson founded the band in 2017, with bassist Cameron Picton completing the line-up shortly afterward[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26). Their first performance together was a cover of Neu!'s "Hero" at the [BRIT School](https://www.edgepedia.org/brit-school)[5](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/get-to-know-black-midi-a-new-type-of-british-guitar-band/), and they played their first show at The Windmill in Brixton in June 2017, becoming staples of the venue and of what became known as the [Windmill scene](https://www.edgepedia.org/windmill-scene)[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26).
**Improvisation as method.** Greep and Simpson both learned to improvise in church bands, and the group's rehearsal process was built on long free-form jams, sometimes swapping instruments mid-performance[5](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/get-to-know-black-midi-a-new-type-of-british-guitar-band/). Cited influences ranged from rapper [Danny Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-brown) and the jazz fusion group [Mahavishnu Orchestra](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahavishnu-orchestra) to Congolese soukous[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/).
## Breakthrough
In 2018 the band recorded their first video, a live session for internet radio station NTS, and released the debut single "bmbmbm" on Speedy Wunderground, a label run by producer Dan Carey[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26). In November 2018 they performed five songs from an upcoming album at a Reykjavik show, released by KEXP, and the video spread widely online among listeners of math rock, no wave, and post-punk[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26) • [6](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-schlagenheim/). After signing to Rough Trade in January, the band recorded their debut with Carey[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26).
## Albums
**Schlagenheim (2019).** The debut combined noise-rock heft with nuanced instrumentation and Simpson's rapid, unpredictable rhythms[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/). It was released to critical acclaim and shortlisted for the 2019 [Mercury Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/mercury-prize)[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26). Reviewers heard echoes of The Fall, Touch and Go post-hardcore, 1970s [Miles Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/miles-davis), and 1980s [King Crimson](https://www.edgepedia.org/king-crimson), delivered with free onstage improvisation[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-cavalcade/). The song "Near DT, MI", sung by Picton, alluded to the Flint water crisis in Michigan[6](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-schlagenheim/).
**Cavalcade (2021).** After Kwasniewski-Kelvin departed in January 2021 to focus on his mental health[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26), the trio expanded in every direction: Pitchfork described the album as "pinballing between metal scherzos, political screeds, cabaret waltzes, and baroque-rock"[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/). AllMusic's review noted that feral playing, willful dissonance, and lyrics about an eroding socioeconomic landscape placed the band in a post-punk bracket, while arguing that label alone undersold them[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/schlagenheim-mw0003283103). Touring members Kaidi Akinnibi and Seth Evans filled the departed guitarist's role in the band's live lineup[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/black-midi-mn0003740493).
**Hellfire (2022).** The third album further streamlined the band's high-drama, showtune-style rock, turning Greep and Picton's absurdist lyrical concerns into interlinking stories, including a soldier named Tristan Bongo in "Welcome to Hell" and a preening actor named Freddie Frost in the closer "27 Questions"[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/) • [9](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-hellfire/). Critics placed the record between "unhinged madness and art rock precision"[10](https://www.metacritic.com/music/hellfire/black-midi/critic-reviews?sort-by=publication).
## Windmill scene context
Black Midi were a front-runner of a wave of experimental British bands that emerged in the late 2010s, alongside Black Country New Road, Squid, Shame, and [Fontaines D.C.](https://www.edgepedia.org/fontaines-d-c)[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26) Writers covering the scene grouped these bands under the post-punk label, and academic commentary has noted that Black Country New Road, Black Midi, and Squid were described as the leading groups of the current British post-punk scene, even as their own records moved toward progressive rock, metal, and theatrical songwriting[11](https://ojs.lib.ua.edu/space/article/view/27/320).
## Hiatus and aftermath
In August 2024, Greep said in an Instagram Live session that "black midi was an interesting band that's indefinitely over"; Picton wrote that the band had agreed not to say anything about breaking up, and a representative confirmed the band were on hiatus while working on solo projects[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/). AP News subsequently described the band as having disbanded in August[12](https://apnews.com/article/b865040ea51efd0d3be0b896771ccb88). Their final release to date was the live album *Live Fire*, capturing a festival show in Portugal[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/).
The members have continued with solo and session work. Greep released the solo album *The New Sound* in 2024[12](https://apnews.com/article/b865040ea51efd0d3be0b896771ccb88); Picton released a debut as [My New Band Believe](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-new-band-believe), praised for bringing post-punk's "twitching" rhythms into arrangements with strings, horns, and flamenco-style guitar[13](https://theweek.com/culture-life/music/reviews-ella-langley-my-new-band-believe); and Simpson has worked with [Little Simz](https://www.edgepedia.org/little-simz)[14](https://albumreviews.blog/reviews/2020s-album-reviews/black-midi-album-reviews/).
In January 2026, Rough Trade announced that Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin had died at 26 after what his family described as a long battle with his mental health[1](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26). [Guitar World](https://www.edgepedia.org/guitar-world) described him as the "six-string foil" to Greep, playing brighter Telecaster tones against Greep's baritone guitar, and noted that he appeared only on [Schlagenheim](https://www.edgepedia.org/schlagenheim)[15](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/black-midi-guitarist-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-dies-at-26).
## References
1. [Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, Black Midi guitarist, dies aged 26, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/please-take-a-moment-to-check-in-with-your-loved-ones-so-we-can-stop-this-happening-to-our-young-men-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-black-midi-guitarist-dies-aged-26)
2. [Black Midi Go on Hiatus as Geordie Greep Says Band Is "Indefinitely Over", Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/)
3. [Black Midi: Schlagenheim Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/schlagenheim-mw0003283103)
4. [Premature Evaluation: black midi Hellfire, Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2192940/black-midi-hellfire/reviews/premature-evaluation)
5. [Get to Know black midi, a New Type of British Guitar Band, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/get-to-know-black-midi-a-new-type-of-british-guitar-band/)
6. [Black Midi: Schlagenheim Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-schlagenheim/)
7. [Black Midi: Cavalcade Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-cavalcade/)
8. [Black Midi Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/black-midi-mn0003740493)
9. [Black Midi: Hellfire Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-hellfire/)
10. [Critic Reviews for Hellfire, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/hellfire/black-midi/critic-reviews?sort-by=publication)
11. [19 Revelations, University of Alabama journals](https://ojs.lib.ua.edu/space/article/view/27/320)
12. [Music Review: black midi's Geordie Greep aims for 'The New Sound' on his solo debut, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/b865040ea51efd0d3be0b896771ccb88)
13. [Music reviews: Ella Langley and My New Band Believe, The Week](https://theweek.com/culture-life/music/reviews-ella-langley-my-new-band-believe)
14. [Black Midi Album Reviews, Aphoristic Album Reviews](https://albumreviews.blog/reviews/2020s-album-reviews/black-midi-album-reviews/)
15. [Black Midi guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin dies at 26, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/black-midi-guitarist-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-dies-at-26)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Indie and alternative bands › Noise and experimental rock bands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license