Twenty-six-year-old musician Geordie Greep has been called a modern-day Frank Zappa. In many ways, he is—he’s a virtuosic, progressive, jazz fusion rock musician with an oddball sense of humour—but in many ways, he’s a completely different animal.
Coming up in the famous Brixton “Windmill” scene along with like-minded bands Black Country, New Road and Squid, Geordie Greep was part of the band Black Midi.
Along with bandmates Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, Cameron Picton and Morgan Simpson, the band created a brief but powerful discography of three great experimental art-rock albums in Schlagenheim, Cavalcade and Hellfire. After going on hiatus, Greep released his solo debut The New Sound in October 2024 to massive critical acclaim.
Essentially jazz fusion, The New Sound is a wild mix of progressive rock, jazz, soul, funk, samba and Latin - it’s a madhouse. Over this music, Greep weaves a tale of male loneliness into a strange concept album that ensnares and delights listeners.
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Opening the show, Geordie Greep and his incredible seven-piece band leapt straight into Walk Up - a funky but anxious deep cut that dives into the album’s central narrative. A heavier track, the tune is much more reflective of Greep’s experimental roots in Black Midi with noisy sections and busy drums.
Following this, Greep and company invited listeners to Terra, the second track of the album. The first of several extended versions live audiences were treated to, the gentle samba rhythms spread out as the band took turns in solos - piano, guitar, percussion and drums - a true jazz performance.
Apologising for his hoarse voice after also playing a matinee show earlier in the day, Geordie Greep compared himself to Marge Simpson - hilarious, but even with a rough edge, his vocals did not disappoint. His vibrato was tremendous.
Album opener Blues came next. A song with a riff suitable for musicians looking to practice their speed picking, the band instead played the riff on keys instead of just guitar and bass, a suitably jazzy alternative. Greep added some hilarious call-and-response vocal scatting while the band added some deeper colour to the instrumental.
Through a War and As It Waltz were delightfully extended jam renditions, complete with solos and added dynamic variations - something most punters were ill-equipped for. Most listeners to art-rock adjacent bands aren’t expecting ten-minute renditions of album tracks!
Of course, Geordie served up lead single Holy, Holy with an insane live version. A vocal scat tangent of what sounded like Autumn Leaves with “Shakira, Shakira” breaks broke up the track while the band took turns soloing and improvising changes, turning a six-minute track into almost double the length - and no one was complaining. A notable moment took place during a guitarist’s solo where I could’ve sworn the player’s sweep picking reached into the hundreds of BPM.
Extended versions of Motorbike, Bongo Season and the Magician followed, jamming well into the evening. At one point, Greep taunted the audience over their need to rock with an AC/DC riff before diving straight back into the jazz - and all were bewildered.
Cementing himself as not just a fantastic songwriter, storyteller and musician but also a brilliant band leader, Geordie Greep has made many forget the sudden conclusion to Black Midi and instead celebrate all that is Greep with his fantastic solo work and immaculate live show. Do not miss this tour if you can.
