While Bicep were sipping the tracks of the “CHROMA” project, the pinnacle of their career so far, not only for the quality of the songs but even more so for the show staged live, they took some time to dedicate themselves to a completely different idea. Contacted as early as 2022 by a charity organization for a study expedition in the Arctic, Andy Ferguson (co-owner of the company name Bicep, together with Matthew McBriar) spent two weeks in Greenland, coming into contact with the problems of the place (in particular, the mutations caused by the melting of the ice) and witnessing the performance of the Arctic Sounds Festival, where he had the opportunity to meet numerous musicians from the area. In those days the plan was born to create a shared project, in which to bring together life stories from the Polar Circle, combining video footage with a soundtrack capable of supporting the music and languages of the territory, also using natural sounds recorded live.
The final result took the form of an immersive multimedia installation, the result of the intervention of director Charlie Miller and the visual artist Zak Norman. In fact, a feature film that explores communities, culture, everyday life and the challenges faced by indigenous artists and the local population: how to live on the front line in the fight against climate change. The music, produced by Bicep in collaboration with seven artists from the region, is the fulcrum of “Takkuuk”, which is finding widespread resonance and has even ended up on the pages of important tabloids, such as the British The Guardian.
The first experience took place on 2 July 2025 in London, from there a tour that also brought the installation to Italy, to Milan, last November. Music, climate and identity, firmly united, with a focus on one of the most vulnerable places on the planet, a powerful story that extends to Sweden, Norway and Canada, intertwining landscapes, traditions and testimonies. The hypnotic and enveloping electronic music of the Northern Irish duo naturally integrates the raw sounds of the territory (wind, ice, traditional songs inuit), the instruments and voices of local musicians.
The data is alarming: between 2002 and 2021, the Greenland ice sheet lost an average of 280 billion tons of ice per year, contributing to rising seas globally. Ice loss accelerates, the landscape transforms and new green expanses advance, fueling warming and releasing greenhouse gases in an increasingly worrying cycle. To keep attention on the problem, “Takkuuk” leaves space for the voices of indigenous populations, exploring issues such as marginalization, displacement and the direct impact that the climate crisis has on local everyday life. The Sami singer Katarina Barruk, the Greenlandic rapper Tarrak, the duo of throat singing Silla, the metal band Sound Of The Damned, i producer Andachan and Niilas, the indie band Nujia bring new horizons to sounds dance oriented of Bicep, this time less dense than drop and crescendo, but even more careful to load themselves with suggestive, deeply descriptive ambient rarefactions. Why the club culture today can promote severe acts of denunciation.
06/18/2026
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
