Since their inception in 2017, experimental rockers Black Midi have gone from strength to strength bringing their eclectic sounds to new ears. But all that might have come to a head were it not for the enforced break that came about in early 2020. The trio tell Prog how they found new energy to fuel their latest release, Hellfire, and why they certainly won’t be writing a political album any time soon.

Words: Julian Marszalek Images: Atiba Jefferson

Black Midi are jumping for joy over Hellfire.

Rightfrom the moment they graduated from the celebrated BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in 2017, Londoners Black Midi have been both a divisive and acquired taste. To their detractors, the trio of singer-guitarist Geordie Greep, bassist and keyboardist Cameron Picton and powerhouse drummer Morgan Simpson are far too clever for their own good, spending way too much time worshipping at the altar of Primus-level mischief.

And yet, for all that, support for Black Midi has grown at an exponential rate on both sides of the Atlantic. Viewed by some as the natural heirs to the trail forged by King Crimson, their unholy yet deeply satisfying fusion of jazz, math rock, prog and whatever else they choose to throw into the mix has certainly marked them down as one of the most intriguing, challenging and, above all, original bands to have emerged from these shores for quite some time.