black midi are teetering on that rocky precipice that only the most hyped new bands end up on. In barely a year, the Croydon four-piece have built a hardcore following off the back of a caustic live show, a handful of intense tracks and virtually zero social media presence. Many ​“saviours of rock” before them have stumbled. Can they make it to the next level?

The outlook is promising. First, as former pupils of the BRIT School – the Croydon pop factory that’s given the world Adele, King Krule and, um, Dane Bowers – they’re not short on industry connections. Second, they’ve teamed up with Mercury-nominated producer Dan Carey, whose no-frills, one-take recording sessions bring the best out of a band who honed their sound onstage. Most importantly, they’ve got raw talent for days – and while they’re all highly trained, it’s the chemistry they unlock as a unit that sets them apart.

black midi’s music is a maelstrom of spittle and scree, with echoes of Shellac and This Heat at their fiercest – and all held together by one jaw-dropping drummer. On a YouTube clip of a live show in Iceland, the top comment simply states: ​“It’s every musician’s dream to play with a drummer like that.” So, we thought we’d put the spotlight on the man at the back, and ask 20-year-old sticksman Morgan Simpson about the players that have shaped his sound since he was plonked behind a kit aged two.