The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge

The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge
Compilation album by Black Midi
Released	5 June 2020 (2020-06-05)
Recorded	2020
Genre	Experimental rock post-rock noise rock audiobook
Length	119:10
Label	Self-released
Producer	Dan Carey Black Midi
Black Midi chronology
Black Midi Live in the USA (2020) The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge (2020) Cavalcade (2021)

The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge is an anthology album by English rock band Black Midi, self-released on 5 June 2020. The album was released as a download only, exclusively to Bandcamp, as part of the website's monthly revenue waiver to support artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Composition

The first four tracks on the album consist of short stories (written by prominent literary figures including Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Allan Poe) read by the members of the band over instrumental jams. Three instrumental tracks, taken from much of the same recordings as the backing jams for the spoken word tracks, are also included.[2] The band refers to the release as an audiobook on its website.[3]

Release

Due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on musicians in 2020 from not being able to tour, Bandcamp announced it would be waiving its share of revenue and donating all sales to artists for 24 hours on March 20.[4] Bandcamp repeated the initiative in the following months, including on June 5.[5][6] Black Midi contributed The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge specifically for the initiative on this day. The album remained available on the band's Bandcamp page afterwards. The album came a month after the release of another spoken word performance by Black Midi, an 18-minute recital of "The Beggar and the King", a one-act play by Winthrop Parkhurst.[7]

Track listing

The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Woman's Confession [fr] (by Guy De Maupassant)"	11:17
2.	"Who Is to Pay? (extract from The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell)"	4:18
3.	"Out of Season (by Ernest Hemingway)"	15:40
4.	"Hop Frog (by Edgar Allan Poe)"	23:33
5.	"Instrumental 1"	24:45
6.	"Instrumental 2"	23:57
7.	"Instrumental 3"	15:40
Total length:		119:10

Personnel

Black Midi

• Geordie Greep – voice on "Hop-Frog" and "A Woman's Confession", baritone guitar
• Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin – electric guitar
• Cameron Picton – bass guitar, voice on "Who Is to Pay?"
• Morgan Simpson – drums, voice on "Out of Season"

Additional

• Dan Carey – live FX, producer
• Alexis Smith – engineer and tape operator
• Stories produced, engineered and edited by Black Midi.

References

1. "Black Midi share jam spoken word album 'The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge' | NME". NME. 6 June 2020.
2. "The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge, by black midi". black midi.
3. "BMBMBM".
4. Aswad, Jem (20 March 2020). "Online Music Retailer Bandcamp Is Waiving Its Share of Sales Today – 100% Goes to Musicians". Variety. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
5. Galil, Leor (1 July 2020). "Another chance for a Bandcamp binge to help musicians". Chicago Reader.
6. "Support Artists Impacted By the Covid-19 Pandemic". Bandcamp Daily. 3 July 2020.
7. https://www.nts.live/mobile/shows/remote-utopias/episodes/black-midi-2nd-may-2020