Bicep have shared their latest single ‘CHROMA 001 HELIUM’, marking the launch of their “ambitious” new project, CHROMA.
The Belfast electronic duo – comprised of Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar – have launched CHROMA, a new project which sees the two combine a record label, a series of curated events, a brand new and constantly evolving Bicep AV/DJ show, and a unique visual identity created in collaboration with David Rudnick and his Terrain studio.
Per Mixmag, Bicep has previously teased visuals for CHROMA in front of a 15,000-strong crowd at their sold-out Drumsheds show last year. Speaking about the project in a press release, the duo said: “We’ve increasingly wanted to show a more rounded picture of what we do in the studio. We do a lot of more heavy techno focused music, ambient and various other styles that don’t really fit into the “BICEP” sound, and which often never sees the light of day.”
Their first track for the project, ‘CHROMA 001 HELIUM’, was written “specifically” for Bicep’s two-night run at London’s Alexandra Palace in 2022. According to the duo, “the show felt a little too sweet in certain sections and we wanted to add some more grit into the show”.
They added that “HELIUM” stood out to them due to it being “a bit darker and more club-focused than most of our music we have released over the past few years. Although it’s actually a pretty fair representation of what we’re listening to and playing in our dj sets”.
Their releases on CHROMA which will all feature both Ferguson and McBriar in some form. They were created with an ethos to cover everything “from Acid to Alkaline”,with the idea behind the label being twofold: as both a home for their own more underground club focused productions, and also a platform to share their wider music styles.
The duo have some CHROMA events planned to take place throughout the year. Explaining the new CHROMA performances, they shared “The same team who work on our BICEP LIVE show is working on CHROMA. This show will be much more fluid, constantly evolving and changing on a week to week basis with lots more experimentation.”
Bicep will be going on tour and performing at festivals this year including Coachella, Boardmasters and Dour Festival. Check out a full list of tour dates below and visit here for tickets.
Bicep 2024 tour dates are:
APRIL
11 – SNOWBOMBING, MAYRHOFEN AT
12 – RADIUS, CHICAGO US
14 – COACHELLA, INDIO US
21 – COACHELLA, INDIO US
MAY
3 – DGTL, SANTIAGO CL
4 – TIMEWARP, SÃO PAULO BR
31 – AVA FESTIVAL, BELFAST UK
JUNE
1 – FORBIDDEN FRUIT, DUBLIN IE
2 – THE MARQUEE, CORK IE
22 – TNMK, KATOWICE PL
23 – HIDEOUT, PAG HR
JULY
19 – BRIGHTON BEACH, BRIGHTON UK
20 – DOUR FESTIVAL, DOUR BE
26 – DEKMANTEL, AMSTERDAM NL
AUGUST
2 – FINSBURY PARK, LONDON UK
9 – BOARDMASTERS, CORNWALL UK
NOVEMBER
2 – C2C FESTIVAL, TURIN IT
Bicep released their secons full-length LP ‘Isles‘ in 2021. In a four-star review of the album, NME shared: “While many in the electronic scene have attempted to imitate Bicep’s signature sound, nobody builds melancholy into colourful trance and techno quite like these Irish mates. As they prove across ‘Isles’’ 10 intricately-crafted tracks (which were whittled down from more than 150 demos), few other artists can conjure up these much-missed moments of patiently rapturous rave ecstasy quite so artfully.”
Since then, the duo have released one off tracks and remixes including 2022’s single ‘Water‘.
