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But then, just as they were gearing up to record the album, the pandemic hit, initially throwing everyone into a state of disarray. This hook up felt right and the pair feature prominently on Cavalcade. They went on to play several live dates as a trio augmented by saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibiand keyboard player Seth Evans. Early in 2020, the fourth member of black midi from the original line up, guitarist/vocalist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin,told the other three that he needed some time away from the group due to problems Songs that had been brewing since the release of Schlagenheimin July began muscling their way onto set lists and finally became individual entities by October, getting refined in between an extensive world tour and a scorching turn at the Mercury Prize ceremony. Ground was broken on Cavalcadein those now weird seeming pre-pandemic days of 2019. You have to try because you could either end up with a madman’s breakfast or you could end up with a fantastic kaleidoscope and the only way to find out which one it’s going to be is to try. Geordie says simply: “If you worry about that before you start you’re limiting yourself. black midi listen widely and deeply not just torock and jazz but to hip hop, electronic dance music, classical, ambient, prog, experimental… And their ethos is simple according to Geordie: “We just combine lessons learned from all of this music to make something that’s very interesting to listen to and something that is brand new.” They are quick to bat away any suggestion that it’s a risky strategy drawing from such a wide source of influences, that the resultant eclectic mix of influences could produce something resembling a mad man’s breakfast. The flow has the feel of a story, which is rewarding to listen to.”īut the record is dynamic in its musical ambition above all else. Each tells their story one by one and as each track ends they overtake you, replaced by the next in line.” Morgan Simpson, the powerhouse drummer advises: “Enjoy it, live with it, spend some time living in it.” When pressed to choose one word to describe the album, Geordie elects for “drama” adding: “The emphasis when we were making and sequencing Cavalcadewas to make music that was as dramatic and as exciting as possible. Geordie Greep, the band’s mercurial guitarist and primary singerexplains the fundamentals of Cavalcade: “A big thing on this album is the emphasis on third person stories, and theatrical ones at that.” Cameron Picton, the inventive bassist and occasional singer agrees: “When you’re listening to the album you can almost imagine all the characters form a sort of cavalcade. The album art –again, another intricate collage created by David Rudnick–brings thisidea colourfully to life, drawing the listener inexorably into this mysterious world, reinforcing the idea that Cavalcadeis a glorious collection of stories just waiting to be dived into. The meaning of the word cavalcade is a procession of people, such as a royal parade, and black midi picture their new album as a line of larger than life figures–from a cult leader fallen on hard times and an ancient corpse found in a diamond mine to legendary cabaret singer Marlene Dietrich –strolling seductively past them. Cavalcade, their second studio album for Rough Trade, scales beautiful new heights, reaching ever upwards from an already lofty base of early achievements. black midi’sfollow up to Schlagenheimis a dynamic, hellacious, inventive success.
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No second album syndrome and no sophomore slump for Britain’s most exciting and challenging young rock band.