History Music / BlackMidi

Black Midi is a weird band from London. Though they're named after an infamously noisy genre of electronic music, they are in fact a GenreBusting rock act. Their complex sound blends elements of {{noise rock}}, {{math rock}}, {{post punk}}, {{post rock}}, {{progressive rock}}, and no wave into a cohesive but undefinable whole, marked by off-kilter grooves, improvisational jamming, and frontman Geordie Greep's bizarre vocals.

+ Influenced By: Music/{{Can}}, Music/KingCrimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/{{Slint}}, Music/{{Deerhoof}}, Music/DeathGrips, Music/DannyBrown, Creator/MarleneDietrich

In 2021, they announced their second full length ''Cavalcade'', heralded by the single "John L." The album adds saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi and keyboardist Seth Evans to the band's lineup. It released May 28th.

* {{Improv}}: As stated above, virtually all of their material is constructed from extended jamming sessions, and also plays an important part in their live set. Their commitment to this even extends to the vocals, as Geordie is well known for never singing a song the same way twice.

In 2021, they announced their second full length ''Cavalcade'', heralded by the single "John L." The album adds saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi and keyboardist Seth Evans to the band's lineup. It is set to release May 28th.

* MotorMouth: The lyrics to "John L" are rapidly delivered spoken word.

+ Influenced By: Music/{{Can}}, Music/KingCrimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/{{Slint}}, Music/{{Deerhoof}}, Music/DeathGrips, Music/DannyBrown, Music/MeredithMonk, Music/MarleneDietrich

+ Influenced By: Music/{{Can}}, Music/KingCrimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/{{Slint}}, Music/{{Deerhoof}}, Music/DeathGrips, Music/DannyBrown, Music/MarleneDietrich

+ Influenced By: Music/{{Can}}, Music/KingCrimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/{{Slint}}, Music/{{Deerhoof}}, Music/DeathGrips, Music/DannyBrown

+ Influenced By: Music/{{Can}}, Music/KingCrimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/{{Slint}}, Music/DeathGrips

* Influenced By: Music/{{Can}}, Music/KingCrimson, [[Music/JohnMcLaughlin Mahavishnu Orchestra]], Music/TalkingHeads, Music/{{Slint}}, Music/DeathGrips
* Associated artists: Rosie Alena, Black Country New Road, Squid, Damo Suzuki, Jerskin Fendrix, Music/{{Battles}}, Fat Tony]

* Influenced By: Music/{{Can}}, Music/KingCrimson, [[Music/{{JohnMcLaughlin}} Mahavishnu Orchestra]], Music/TalkingHeads, Music/{{Slint}}, Music/DeathGrips
* Associated artists: Rosie Alena, Black Country New Road, Squid, Damo Suzuki, Jerskin Fendrix, Music/{{Battles}}, Fat Tony
]

* Influenced By: Music/{{Can}}, Music/KingCrimson, [[Music/JohnMcLaughlin Mahavishnu Orchestra]], Music/TalkingHeads, Music/{{Slint}}, Music/DeathGrips

* RedOniBlueOni: Stoic, eccentric Geordie vs. manic headbanger Matt.

* NewSoundAlbum: ''Cavalcade'' has noticeably more influence from jazz fusion than ''Schlagenheim'' did, adding a saxophonist and keyboardist as full time band members and featuring even more complex song structures.

* BoleroEffect: "Ducter" features a very Music/{{Slint}} sounding crescendo on the chorus. "7 Eleven" uses this alongside a spoken word monologue, probably making it the band's only fully fledged PostRock song. "Bmbmbm" and "Years Ago" also use this to a lesser extent, though in the former's case it's primarily just Geordie's vocals that increase in intensity while the rest of the band carries on a plodding beat, eventually leading to a massive instrumental climax.

* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Of Schlagenheim" into "Bmbmbm", "Years Ago" into "Ducter".

In 2021, after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they announced their second full length ''Cavalcade'', heralded by the single "John L." The album adds saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi and keyboardist Seth Evans to the band's lineup. It is set to release May 28th.

** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT0nSp8lUws John L]]" features a bunch of dancers in skin-colored lycra suits paying homage to a cyclopean obelisk being against the backdrop of a CG landscape that looks like an Creator/AdultSwim remake of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. That's about as straightforward as we can put it.

* Associated artists: Rosie Alena, Black Country New Road, Damo Suzuki, Jerskin Fendrix, Music/{{Battles}}, Fat Tony

* NoEnding: "Years Ago" abruptly cuts out to a chorus of wailing voices, which then fades into "Ducter". The effect is rather [[Creator/MontyPython Python-esque]].

In 2021, after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they announced their second full length ''Cavalcade'', heralded by the single "John L." The album adds saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibe and keyboardist Seth Evans to the band's lineup. It is set to release May 28th.

* Kaidi Akinnibe - Saxophone

* ShowWithinAShow: "Jerkhead", a vaguely {{animesque}} superhero cartoon, and "Fantastic Knight XI", an apparent ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy'' pastiche with very unsettling graphics. Both are developed by a company called Deicide.
* SignatureStyle: There are pretty distinct differences between Geordie and Cameron's approaches to songwriting. Geordie tends to have very verbose, surreal lyrics with highly expressive vocals and elaborate, multifaceted song structures, while Cameron goes for a more minimalist approach, with cryptic bits of LoopedLyrics delivered in a creepy monotone delivered over a steadily intensifying soundscape. To oversimpify, Geordie's songs sound more like Music/KingCrimson, while Cameron's sound more like Music/{{Slint}}.