Written by Geordie Greep has shared a tribute to his former bandmate and fellow Black Midi co-founder Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, who died on January 12 following “a long battle with his mental health,” according to a statement shared by Kwasniewski-Kelvin’s family. He was 26 years old.
“He changed my life in more ways than I can ever explain or repay,” Greep wrote in an Instagram post. “Thank you Matt, thank you so much for being my friend. Thank you for helping me in so many ways. Thank you for being brave and courageous enough to believe in the dream we had together, and brave and courageous enough to battle through the awful thing you had to for as long as you did.” You can read Greep’s full statement below.
Kwasniewski-Kelvin met his future Black Midi bandmates—Greep, Cameron Picton, and Morgan Simpson—as teenagers while attending the a London performing arts institution the BRIT School. The group released their debut album, Schlagenheim, in 2019 on Rough Trade Records.
Instagram content
Hi all.
It goes without saying that it’s been a really tricky week. Really, really sad and shit. But I think that it’s important I say something here just to have some record of this time and these feelings.
I want to say thank you, so, so much, to all of my friends, to everyone we have worked with in music, and to all of the fans for being supportive and kind and thoughtful and gentle. Really thank you all so much, it means more than anything and has really helped. It has been so moving and powerful to see all the tributes and memories shared by all those who know him and all those he inspired. I want to extend all of the warmest thoughts to all of Matt’s family and hope all of you are doing ok.
It’s really such a sad thing that’s happened. 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. Even though I haven’t seen him in some years, I thought about him very often, and I always wished and hoped I would one day see him again. There is so much I wish I could say to him. I wish I could say how sorry I am for everything that happened, how sorry I am that he was unlucky enough to be battling such a cruel, unforgiving and persistent illness, how much I miss him and will miss him always, and how thankful I am for everything he did for me.
He changed my life in more ways than I can ever explain or repay. Thank you Matt, thank you so much for being my friend. Thank you for helping me in so many ways. Thank you for being brave and courageous enough to believe in the dream we had together, and brave and courageous enough to battle through the awful thing you had to for as long as you did. 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. We did and in a short time too.
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. We bloody did it. That feeling will remain with me for the rest of my life, and I will spend the rest of it making more music in the hopes of honouring you, and the mad dream we had when we were 14 years old. Almost no one believed in us but we knew we could do it, and we bloody did.
I thought about if I should say all this or not, if I should say anything about it or not, but I think it’s my duty. I think it’s my duty to not ever shy away from telling the world what a great person you were. 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. And I would never be able to do any of it without you. I love you, thank you so much.
And thank you everyone else too. Best wishes to everyone. I love you all.
If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or know someone who is, we recommend these resources:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
https://988lifeline.org/
Call or text 988
UK Samaritans: 116 123
Denmark: 70 201 201
