Geordie Greep honours Black Midi’s Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin in eulogy

Geordie Greep has paid his respects to former Black Midi guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, who died earlier this month.

“He changed my life in more ways than I can ever explain or repay,” wrote Greep in a statement on Instagram.

The two co-founded English rock outfit Black Midi in 2017 with Morgan Simpson. In 2021, Kwasniewski-Kelvin exited the band due to mental health issues.

“Thank you Matt, thank you so much for being my friend,” Greep wrote. “Thank you for helping me in so many ways. Thank you for being brave and courageous enough to battle through the awful thing you had to for as long as you did.”

Rough Trade, the band’s record label, announced Kwasniewski-Kelvin’s death on January 12.

 

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“It’s really such a sad thing that’s happened,” Greep wrote. “But I have been trying to focus on what a great person he was, what a force for positivity and goodwill, and how much better he made the lives of everyone who knew him. We all loved him so much, we really did. And he will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”

Kwasniewski-Kelvin and Greep met at the BRIT school in London as teenagers before forming Black Midi.

“We had a dream when we were 14 years old of making crazy music and playing it around the world, being able to make music on our own terms and be able to do it for a living – and we bloody did,” Greep reminisced. “That’s the thing I want to remember, how, even when you were struggling with all that you were, you had the courage and strength and determination to make this music that made so many people happy.”

“I think it’s my duty to not ever shy away from telling the world what a great person you were,” Greep continued. “To not be frightened or be awkward or discreet around the topic, that feeling doesn’t compare and isn’t at all important when I think of what you were dealing with for so long, and what an amazing person you were.”

“So thank you Matt, thank you for everything. You’re always gonna be with me. Every stage and studio or wherever I play I’ll be thinking of you. I dedicate the rest of my life to finishing what we started.”

Cameron Winter, Shame, Mary Anne Hobbs, and Nnamdï expressed their condolences in the comments of Greep’s post.

Greep accompanied his eulogy with a slideshow of photos from Black Midi’s early days. “These are the sort of memories you can’t forget,” he wrote.

 

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