Geordie Greep announced his debut solo album The New Sound (and shared its haywire lead single) last month, amidst an avalanche of speculation as to whether black midi were done. It turns out they were, with Greep calling the trio "indefinitely over."
That news was apparently a surprise to bassist Cameron Picton, who wrote on Twitter, "We'd agreed not to say anything about 'breaking up' so I was as blindsided as everyone else last night but maybe in a different way. I guess sometimes all you can say is lol."
At the same time, the band's management told The Quietus, "After a successful tour including South American dates, they agreed to have a break and do some solo work, with the understanding the black midi door [would] be left open."
Now, Greep has opened up a bit more about the dissolution of his former band. Speaking to NME, he explained that The New Sound marks "the first time that I was very transparent about the kind of music I like to listen to."
He continued: "I loved being in black midi, but these are songs that lend themselves to playing with different people. Also, I wanted to start doing something which was more under my own name and try something more versatile. I knew I wanted to do it eventually."
Later in the interview, Greep acknowledges that the band had agreed not to mention a breakup, but that he felt like honesty was the best policy.
If I was to do it again, I probably would have done it differently. But in the moment, it felt very important to me that it should be said. We hadn't really been on speaking terms as a band a while before that, it had broken down in communication. When we first decided we're not going to do [black midi] anymore, we had said, "Let's not say anything because everyone will just forget." In a few months it'll be obvious, and we won't need to say anything about it. But then it became apparent that wasn't really the case. People were all the time saying, "What's happening?" I thought… who cares? Let's just say it. It's over – I don't want to string anyone along.
Greep says that black midi's demise is "a sad thing," but he seems to be positive about the future of his solo endeavour, saying, "You do a band for a little bit, do it for three years, have a great vibe, and then finish. Nothing's meant to go on forever and ever."
Revisit "Holy, Holy" below.