Interview My New Band Believe: “The best thing, the most exciting thing, is to react to the unexpected”

After coming to life in somewhat of a fever dream, My New Band Believe - the new project from former black midi bassist Cameron Picton - is as intriguing and far-reaching as its name would suggest.

Words: Sophie Flint Vázquez
19th May 2026

Upon the first listen to My New Band Believe’s eponymous debut, you likely won’t know what’s hit you - songs that shapeshift every minute, feverish lyrics (“Don’t cry, you deserve this” from ‘Target Practice’, anyone?), and sections that sound like they were improvised on recording day. It’s clear that Cameron Picton, the brain behind the project, is the same person who helped drive the experimental rock of black midi.

“The production for some of the [singer-songwriter] records that were popular around the time I started thinking about making this record were quite stale,” Cameron says today, on a Zoom call. On a stroll and with his camera off, he takes the time to chew on every word - a sharp contrast to the restless nature of My New Band Believe’s output, and, indeed, structure. “I was just like, ‘oh, well this could be a lot more imaginative’.”

When black midi went on hiatus in 2024 (before the tragic passing of guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin earlier this year), Cameron spent two years dipping in and out of what would eventually become ‘My New Band Believe’. The result is 36 minutes of acoustic chamber pop with touches of folk and jazz. However, random bursts of instrumental discordance, abrupt endings (‘Target Practice’), and even sonic ‘glitches’ (‘Pearls’) keep the record from ever feeling conventional.

“Most of my writing decisions were informed by [saying] ‘what can I perform a bunch of times and not get bored of?’”

Before the record had fully materialised, Cameron would often book himself for last-minute shows at South London’s Windmill as writing exercises. “Most of my writing decisions were informed by what’s interesting to perform for myself to a room of fifty people or whatever. Basically, what can I perform a bunch of times and not get bored of?” (The answer, he reassures us, is that he’s still not bored.)

While the songs started out with quite defined structures, the arrangements were up for grabs, so he’d invite various collaborators to play parts of any given track, seeing what they could make of it. My New Band Believe, then, is less of a band, and more of a rotating collection of musicians under his guidance.

As such, the album’s credit list has ended up with over 40 names, including familiar members of caroline, Jockstrap, and Shame, amongst others (although that last one is a bit tenuous - the band’s Josh Finerty went to his house, held a microphone, and earned himself a credit for it). “Once the vocals are in, it’s quite easy to decide what supports the song and what doesn’t,” Cameron explains nonchalantly, as if anyone could pull off the feat of orchestrating 40-plus collaborators into a coherent record. “You just have to think about what role the instrumental contribution of different people is playing. Then you can sort of mute and unmute as desired.”

As of right now, the future of My New Band Believe is arguably in the same limbo as its ethos: “You can’t plan for so much of what happens in life and music. And the best thing, the most exciting thing, is to react to the unexpected.”

‘My New Band Believe’ is out now via Rough Trade.

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