Geordie Greep, the unpredictable creative engine behind black midi, has just announced a run of solo shows across Australia.
The black midi frontman will bring his debut solo record The New Sound to four cities this July and August, touring a record built on controlled chaos and zero creative compromise. Recorded across two continents with more than 30 session musicians, the album throws alternative pop into a blender with jazz-funk, theatrical scores and full-band eruptions. Half of it was tracked in Brazil with local players who had never encountered Greep’s music before, responding to demos with completely fresh ears.
The New Sound refuses to sit still. Its instrumental title track lands somewhere between a jazz-funk workout and a cinematic set piece, while elsewhere tracks lurch between whispered passages and explosive full-band walls of noise. Greep acts as a kind of emcee throughout, guiding listeners through a rotating cast of characters caught up in increasingly absurd scenarios set across cafes, bars, rented rooms and cabarets.
Geordie Greep Australian Tour
- 31 July — Northcote Theatre, Melbourne
- [TBC] August — Princess Theatre, Brisbane
- 3 August — Metro Theatre, Sydney
- 4 August — The Rechabite, Perth
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
Presale opens 23 April at 9am local time, with general sale following on 24 April at 9am local time. Tickets and sign-ups are available through Handsome Tours.
Greep has signalled he plans to keep working with different musicians in different locations going forward, and his live shows follow that same restless instinct. No two nights are designed to land the same way, with the setlist and arrangements shifting from show to show. For anyone who followed black midi’s notoriously volatile performances, the solo shows promise a similar energy filtered through an entirely new lens.
The New Sound has drawn comparisons to everything from Frank Zappa to Scott Walker, but its refusal to settle into any one style for more than a few bars makes it a uniquely slippery listen. The album’s world is one where fantasy and reality blur constantly, with characters convincing themselves they have the upper hand even as everything around them collapses.
For more information, head here.
