black midi - Schlagenheim

Sound Audits

Despite a sparse digital presence and just one studio-recorded song, elusive math rock quartet Black Midi carved out a cult following in the late 2010s. A handful of video recordings of their live shows and the 2018 single "bmbmbmbm" were strong enough to gather significant buzz around their meticulously constructed yet feral rock sounds.

Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Geordie Greep, lead guitarist Matt Kelvin, bassist Cameron Picton, and drummer Morgan Simpson, the Croydon, England four-piece formed after graduating from the performing arts institution The BRIT School in 2017. In contrast to the more mainstream acts the school has produced -- including Amy Winehouse and the Kooks -- Black Midi produced angular, experimental post-punk. Forming part of a South London scene alongside acts like Shame, Goat Girl, and HMLTD, the newly minted band became a regular at Brixton's favorite new-band haunt The Windmill. Unlike their peers, Black Midi maintained a mysterious air by conducting hardly any interviews and largely shunning social media. Yet they soon earned media notice with their intense live shows, and in 2018 the band performed a live session for radio station NTS at Flesh & Bone Studios in Hackney. Later that year they released their debut single on producer Dan Carey's (Bat for Lashes, Kate Tempest) Speedy Wunderground label. The song "bmbmbmbm" was a jittery and delirious track, built on tight grooves and explosions of noise. The band's debut LP, Schlagenheim, arrived in the summer of 2019.