#Resource --- title: "Black Midi Co-Founder Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin Dies at 26" source: "https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-co-founder-matt-kwasniewski-kelvin-dies-at-26/" author: - "[[Jazz Monroe]]" published: 2026-01-12 created: 2026-01-24 description: "The guitarist played on the band’s debut album before leaving in 2021 for mental health reasons" tags: - "clippings" --- Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, the co-founding guitarist of [Black Midi](https://pitchfork.com/artists/black-midi/) who performed on their debut album, [*Schlagenheim*](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-schlagenheim/), before leaving the group in 2021, has died, his family announced in a [statement](https://x.com/RoughTradeRecs/status/2010721007691071689) via the band’s label, [Rough Trade](https://www.roughtrade.com/). His death followed “a long battle with his mental health,” according to the statement. He was 26 years old. Kwasniewski-Kelvin took up guitar in primary school, quickly adopting a taste for skater-adjacent punk-pop. His father, who played in a party band, occasionally invited him to rehearsals, where Kwasniewski-Kelvin, then 12, would solo over the group’s blues and pop jams. He met his future Black Midi bandmates—Geordie Greep, Cameron Picton, and Morgan Simpson—at the London performing arts institution the BRIT School, where Greep helped steer his classmate’s tastes towards “harsh noise, drone music, [Merzbow](https://pitchfork.com/artists/2744-merzbow/),” as Kwasniewski-Kelvin [told Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/get-to-know-black-midi-a-new-type-of-british-guitar-band/) in 2019, two years after the band formed. AdChoices [](https://www.pitchfork.com/v2/offers/pfa01001?source=Site_0_JNY_P4K_MOBILE_IN_CONTENT_0_MARTECH_NON_REVIEWS_COMMUNITY_LAUNCH_2026_ZZ) Feted for hectic shows at Brixton’s [Windmill](https://www.windmillbrixton.co.uk/) venue—with Kwasniewski-Kelvin alternating delirious post-hardcore riffs with abstract, sometimes improvised noise—the four-piece spearheaded the south London scene that launched a generation of British experimental rock, frequently sharing stages with the likes of [Black Country, New Road](https://pitchfork.com/artists/black-country-new-road/), [Jerskin Fendrix](https://pitchfork.com/artists/jerskin-fendrix/), and [Shame](https://pitchfork.com/artists/34225-shame/). After signing to [Rough Trade](https://roughtraderecords.com/), the band released *Schlagenheim*, produced by [Speedy Wunderground](https://www.speedywunderground.com/) honcho and scene shepherd Dan Carey, to rave reviews in 2019. They squeezed in major tours of North America and Europe before the pandemic, but when the band returned, with [*Cavalcade*](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-cavalcade/), in early 2021, Kwasniewski-Kelvin was absent. “I have been taking some time off from the band as I have been mentally unwell,” he wrote, adding that he hoped to be back soon. At the time, the band said, “We’re all fully behind our best mate in his recovery,” and noted, “you’d be surprised at the lengths people will go to help you.” After a third album, [*Hellfire*](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-midi-hellfire/), the remaining Black Midi trio [went its separate ways](https://pitchfork.com/news/black-midi-go-on-hiatus-as-geordie-greep-says-band-is-indefinitely-over/) —“indefinitely”—in 2024. In the meantime, Kwasniewski-Kelvin continued to play casually in London, including a guest appearance on [Wu-Lu](https://pitchfork.com/artists/wu-lu/) ’s 2022 album [*Loggerhead*](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/wu-lu-loggerhead/). In 2024, he released a polemical [solo recording](https://mattkwasniewski.bandcamp.com/track/paedophile-ring-free-palestine-end-the-holocaust-end-the-war-now) criticizing the British Labour Party and calling for a free Palestine. In its statement, the Kwasniewski-Kelvin family added, “A talented musician and a kind, loving man finally succumbed; despite all efforts…. Please take a moment to check in with your loved ones so we can stop this happening to our young men.” --- *If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or know someone who is, we recommend these resources:* *988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline* [*https://988lifeline.org/*](https://988lifeline.org/) *Call or text 988* *UK Samaritans: 116 123* *Denmark: 70 201 201*