Glue

Bicep - Saku (feat. Clara La San)

Bicep

As producers, DJs, label founders and avid record collectors, the London-based / Belfast-born duo Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson (aka Bicep) have become two of the most trusted curators of electronic music in the past decade. Newly signed to Ninja Tune, 2017 sees them poised to make their most concise, articulate and daring musical statement yet, with the release of their debut self-titled album.

Fittingly, the record encapsulates all that the duo have come to pioneer over their ten year career: it is the distillation of myriad influences and inspirations, a richly textured trip that channels the freeform experimentalism of early 90s IDM and renovates the house music blueprint. Furthermore, it succeeds in balancing club music with home listening, just as Matt and Andy have succeeded in breaking into the mainstream whilst remaining true to their underground roots.

Born and raised in Belfast, Matt and Andy were steadfast childhood friends. Releasing on Ninja Tune is a natural fit for the pair, whose musical upbringings were decidedly eclectic. “I was into Slayer,” laughs Matt. “My parents listened to Tangerine Dream and Van Morrison and weird world music.” Andy’s side leaned more towards rock: “My dad was in bands. He was friends with Rory Gallagher and they lived in the same area” he says. “Through my early years I started listening to local stuff like Rudi, Undertones and Stiff Little Fingers. I then moved onto the likes of Joy Division and Depeche Mode through listening to John Peel.”

Despite this keen musicality at home, they discovered in their teenage years how resistant their city was to the sounds that they were falling for. “When we were younger, ‘dance music’ was very much a dirty word in Belfast,” says Matt. “Even following a direction in art was frowned upon.” Early solace was found in radio rips of Tim Sweeney’s early Beats In Space shows – “Our friend’s brother in New York used to record them to CD and bring them back and we’d all sit around and listen” – and pilgrimages to a club called Shine, where The Chemical Brothers, Dave Clarke and Underground Resistance would play. “We were sneaking in with tennis balls in our shoes to give us a couple more inches,” Matt recalls. “We were cut off from the UK, and the UK is cut off from Europe. People wore a certain type of jeans and had a certain haircut. Shine was one of the few things that felt different. Punks, goths, chavs were all there. It was such a mad mix.” This radically open-minded fusion of style and sound would inform the pair’s relentless digging, DJ sets and productions for years to come.

Parting ways after school – Andy went to study chemical engineering in Manchester, Matt to study design in Newcastle and later take up work in Dubai – but neither found a club as consistent as Shine on their travels. Turning to each other to fill the void, they shrewdly selected tracks for DJ sets, refined their art and design skills and sharpened their production chops over time. Initially DJing individually as Feel My Bicep in Europe and Asia, they reunited in London and “have been making music every day since.” The dedication has paid off, learning intricately layered self-editing techniques on analogue equipment to achieve a uniquely organic sound with a microscopic attention to detail. The album format is the first opportunity they’ve had to showcase their human sonic signature in full.

Reflecting on their early years, Matt says: “There was a real competition amongst our friends to find the rarest bomb in music. It was a never-ending hunt that led to the blog”. Their geographic isolation and friendly one-upmanship proved itself a strong platform for their Feel My Bicep blog, the go-to site for the best lost and forgotten 80s synth, house, techno, Italo disco, jungle, funk and more attracting over 100,000 visitors per month. Its popularity speaks volumes about the duo’s ability to traverse time and genre indiscriminately, expressing their passion and broad knowledge of music while connecting a worldwide community in the process.

Having built a sterling rep as curators, it was only a matter of time before the duo stepped up as producers. Cutting their production teeth with releases on Throne Of Blood, Traveller Records, Mystery Meat and Love Fever, Will Saul then snapped up the duo for a string of releases on his Aus Music imprint, including the now certified classic “Just EP” bearing the dazzling and ubiquitous title track that became the undisputed club track of 2015 and earned Bicep both Mixmag and DJ Mag’s ‘Track of the Year’. The duo have also collaborated with another groundbreaking UK duo – Simian Mobile Disco – and remixed for the likes of Disclosure, Blood Orange and 808 State.

As label heads, their Feel My Bicep imprint has served as an outlet for some of their most warmly received original productions and remixes (and further releases from hotly-tipped peers too). Beyond its musical output, the logo created by designer Matt – a reference to their love for Italo disco – has become one of the most iconic logos in underground music and is synonymous with the duo’s legendary annual “Italo Disco” parties.

Touring the world over, curating and selling out a long list of Feel My Bicep parties (including Manchester’s Warehouse Project and a 12-week residency at London’s XOYO), their formidable DJ efforts snagged them the #8 ranking in Resident Advisor’s “Top 100 DJs” 2016 poll. Then in 2016 they built and tested a roof-raising live show – a powerful counterpoint to their much loved DJ sets that not only highlights the breadth and depth of the Bicep discography, brings to the fore both their skilful production and formidable engineering chops, but again reinforces their genius curatorial flair. They debuted it at Moogfest, with further live plays reviewed enthusiastically (including at London’s Village Underground which sold out in 3 minutes). 2017 sees them embarking on an extensive live world tour, including festival plays at Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera Sound, Melt, Dekmantel, Lovebox and Parklife, where they will run their own stage.

This is a 21+ event.

Bicep LA

Gigs

Los Angeles

The Mayan

Wide Awake is an independent festival for music fans looking for something different. Expanding to a two-day event for 2022, it embraces leftfield Indie, Post Punk, Electronica, Techno, Jazz and more. Expect a musical melting pot of critically acclaimed sounds.

 Friday May 27 has an emphasis on electronica, with a headline set from Bicep. Other highlights on a leftfield electronic line-up include Caribou, Leon Vynehall, Optimo and Working Mens Club, with Bugged Out!, Snap Crackle and Pop and Corsica Studios curating four stages.

Saturday May 28 sees Primal Scream play Screamadelica in full live for the first time in a decade. The six-stage line-up also features Boy Harsher, Connan Mockasin, Fatoumata Diawara, Floating Points, Kevin Morby, The Comet Is Coming, Tropical Fuckstorm and many more.

Environmentally conscious, socially aware and musical relevant, Wide Awake’s a party for people who care about music and more.

This is an 17+ event.

Wide Awake 2022 - Weekend

Alewya

Altin Gün

Automatic

Billy Nomates

London

Brockwell Park

Wide Awake is an independent festival for music fans looking for something different. Expanding to a two-day event for 2022, it embraces leftfield Indie, Post Punk, Electronica, Techno, Jazz and more. Expect a musical melting pot of critically acclaimed sounds.

 Friday May 27 has an emphasis on electronica, with a headline set from Bicep. Other highlights on a leftfield electronic line-up include Caribou, Leon Vynehall, Optimo and Working Mens Club, with Bugged Out!, Snap Crackle and Pop and Corsica Studios curating four stages.

Environmentally conscious, socially aware and musical relevant, Wide Awake’s a party for people who care about music and more.

This is a 17+ event.

Wide Awake 2022 - Friday ft. Bicep, Caribou + more

Call Super

Caribou

Elkka

WHO: BICEP, The Comet is Coming, Elkka, Floating Points, George Fitzgerald Live, Max Cooper, Moses Boyd, Poppy Ajudha, TSHA + more to be announced.

WHAT: SANDS at Dreamland Margate

MORE ACTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Soundcrash and Eat Your Own Ears have confirmed Bicep as headliners for the inaugural SANDS. This one-day spectacular event will bring seminal sets that cover the spectrum of music, from electronica, jazz to soul and back to techno together. With performances from the most sought after and respected electronic artists in the world along with, appearances from the latest crop of innovative jazz artists. SANDS champions and elevates these unmissable sounds, taking place at the iconic Dreamland in Margate on Saturday 11th June 2022. Tickets go on general sale Friday 5th December at 10am via www.justsands.co.uk

Electronic Music producers and DJ duo from Belfast, BICEP, with be closing this unmissable event.
Following the release of their critically acclaimed second album, ‘Isle’ released earlier this year, the duo has been nominated for two BRITS Awards, an incredible achievement for an independent electronic act. Expanding on the success of their debut album they completed a massively successful tour which saw them raise the roof at Primavera, Coachella, and Glastonbury before triumphant sold out shows at Brixton Academy.

SANDS will be heading to the iconic Dreamland in Margate, announcing their incredible line-up with unmissable new talent including; Multi-award-winning drummer, producer, composer and BBC 1Xtra resident, Moses Boyd. Elkka who’s cross-pollinated between house, electronica, percussive beats, and dreamy vocals. Ahead of the new album innovative Jazz and soul singer Poppy Ajudha plays a live set. The Comet Is Coming bring their mesmerising live set of psychedelic magic to SANDS as they mix jazz, electronica, funk and psychedelic rock. One of the most exciting talents coming out of the U.K., rapidly emerging TSHA. As well as the Mercury Nominated British electronic music producer, DJ, and pioneer Floating Points. With more acts are yet to be announced, the full line-up will boast a wide range of artists spanning across the full spectrum of genres.


MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS TO FOLLOW: www.justsands.co.uk

SANDS - BICEP, Floating Points, TSHA, and many more

Start Running

The Comet Is Coming - Summon the Fire

Echoes

Elkka - Try

Floating Points - Silhouettes (I, II, III)

Roll Back - Single Mix

Hope - Parra For Cuva Remix

Max Cooper - Phi

2 Far Gone

Moses Boyd - Stranger Than Fiction

Disco Yes

Poppy Ajudha - David's Song

OnlyL

Floating Points

George Fitzgerald

Max Cooper

Dreamland Margate

Welcome to the Otherlands... 
An escape to another worldly land where we can all be free.
Feel the rhythm as we escape into nature for 3 days & nights of music, art & culture in the Perthshire countryside.

This is an 18+ event

Otherlands Music & Arts Festival

Jamie xx - I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)

Ricardo Villalobos - Fenlow - Haze 2011 Dub

Tom Misch, Jordan Rakei - Wake Up This Day

Honey Dijon, Tim K, John Mendelsohn - Thunda (feat. John Mendelsohn) - HNNY Remix

Artist

Bicep

Upcoming events