Bicep — AKA Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar — recently unveiled their new single ‘CHROMA 001 HELIUM’, marking the launch of their new project, CHROMA. Representing a significant evolution for the duo, the project combines a record label, a series of events, a brand new Bicep AV/DJ show, and a visual identity created in collaboration with David Rudnick and his Terrain studio.
Bicep: “‘HELIUM’ was written specifically for our London Ally Pally shows at the end of 2022. The show felt a little too sweet in certain sections and we wanted to add some more grit into the show. ‘HELIUM’ is a bit darker and more club-focused than most of the 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.”
The releases on CHROMA — which will all feature Ferguson & McBriar in some form — were formulated with an ethos to cover everything “from Acid to Alkaline”, and the idea behind the label is twofold: as both a home for their own more underground club focused productions and also a platform to share their wider music styles.
Bicep: “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.”
As such, you can expect a wider musical palette and range of BPMs, and there will be a number of collaborations and music released under aliases, each with their own distinct sound and visual identity.
Bicep: “We want to use CHROMA to push our sounds and challenge people more than we probably have in the past. The label is designed to evolve and draw on inspiration constantly, both musically and aesthetically. We’re wanting to essentially create a world that’s an up-to-date representation of us both personally in terms of our evolving tastes.”
The launch of the new single and label follows the duo’s recent takeover of London’s 15,000 capacity Drumsheds, where they played their biggest “Bicep Presents CHROMA” AV/DJ show to date, with tickets apparently ‘selling out within minutes of going on sale’. The event featured a lineup curated by Ferguson and McBriar which included Daphni (Caribou), Rival Consoles, Kelly Lee Owens, Clark, Marcel Dettmann, Special Request, SHERELLE and more, and marks the first in a series of special CHROMA events planned throughout the coming year.
Bicep: “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.”
‘CHROMA 001 HELIUM’ is out now, with the duo having just announced two CHROMA shows at London’s Finsbury Park and Brighton Beach later this year, with a Chroma AV/DJ performance also announced for Coachella.
© justaweemusicblog.com
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