Their most recent line-up consisted of lead vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Geordie Greep and Cameron Picton, along with drummer Morgan Simpson.

Following his departure, the trio were frequently joined by multi-instrumentalist Seth Evans and saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi, both as session musicians and during live performances.

[1] The band began on producer Dan Carey's record label Speedy Wunderground, through which they released their debut single, "bmbmbm", in 2018.

It received critical acclaim,[2] entered the top 50 of the UK Albums Chart, and was nominated for the 2019 Mercury Prize.

[4] Prior to the formation of the band, Geordie Greep had separate jam sessions with Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin and Morgan Simpson, all of whom (alongside Cameron Picton) were attending BRIT School.

On 8 June 2018, the group released their debut single, titled "bmbmbm", on producer Dan Carey's record label Speedy Wunderground.

[12] The eccentric performance, which was recorded for the Seattle radio station KEXP, was praised online and became popular on YouTube, exposing the band to listeners internationally.

[13][14] The band contributed the song "Ice Cream" featuring Jerskin Fendrix on vocals for a Brixton Hillbilly compilation album, released 7 December 2018.

[17] Instead of merely recreating their live show, they chose to augment their sound with piano, accordion, synthesisers, banjo, and drum machines.

[20] In June 2020, the band released a jam and spoken word album via Bandcamp entitled The Black Midi Anthology Vol.

Bassist Cameron Picton confirmed the split on Twitter, admitting that the band "agreed not to say anything about 'breaking up'" and that he was blindsided by Greep's comments.

"[4] The Quietus received a further statement, clarifying that the band "agreed to have a break and do some solo work, with the understanding the Black Midi door be left open.

Black Midi had internally split before the announcement, but opted not to say anything publicly because, according to Greep, "In a few months it’ll be obvious, and we won’t need to say anything about it.

[39] Greep quickly announced a solo album, The New Sound, which was released on 4 October 2024 and produced by Black Midi session member Seth Evans.

[40] Simpson became the touring and recording drummer for experimental jazz musician Nala Sinephro, appearing on her second studio album, Endlessness, released on September 6, 2024.

[41] Picton began to record under the pseudonym Camera Picture, self-releasing two mixtapes of solo material on Bandcamp, titled 44m50s and 36m33s, respectively.