Bicep are an

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

production and DJ duo from

Belfast, Northern Ireland Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, consisting of Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar.

History

Bicep was formed in 2009 as a production and DJing pair in London. The duo, childhood friends, created a blog called "Feel My Bicep", which was used to post lost and forgotten

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s. History and origins Disco ...

Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mil ...

and

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the early 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, p ...

edits. They released tracks on labels Throne of Blood, Traveller Records and Mystery Meat before joining Will Saul's Aus Music and setting up their own label Feel My Bicep in September 2012. That year the pair were awarded ''

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

s 'Best of British Breakthrough DJ' award. After signing to

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others. Inspired by a visi ...

in 2017, Bicep released their debut album '' Bicep'', which went in at number 20 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, and received support from publications such as ''

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'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', ''

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. It was established in 2001. ''RA''s editorial team provides news, musi ...

'' and ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

''. The lead single, "Glue", was voted by the public as

's (Best of British) Track of the Year. It also reached number 1 on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

's Best Electronic of 2017, and came second in ''

'''s 100 Best Tracks of 2017. Bicep released their second album '' Isles'' on Ninja Tune on 22 January 2021. They released the lead single "Apricots" with a music video from BAFTA-winner director

Mark Jenkin Mark Jenkin (born 1976) is a Cornish director, editor, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer. He wrote and directed the film '' Bait'' (2019), which earned him a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. ...

. "Apricots" scored Top-50 entries in both the UK's Official Singles Chart and Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs Chart, was named Billboard's #1 dance track of 2020, hit #1 on the UK's Shazam chart, and spent 10 weeks on the BBC Radio 1 playlist. The album was nominated for Best Irish Album of 2021 for the

Choice Music Prize The Choice Music Prize (), known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to the best album from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish pa ...

. ''Isles'' was number one on the midweek

for the week beginning 25 January 2021, before debuting at number two on the final chart, scooping a number 1 on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart, additionally breaking into multiple Billboard charts including number 12 on the Dance/Electronic Chart. The duo made a pivot to ticketed streams during the coronavirus pandemic, delivering two shows broadcast across 5 timezones. The shows were watched in over 70 countries worldwide, giving fans new live material ahead of the return of in-person shows. The second global stream was recorded at London's

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...

and was awarded four stars by ''

'', with '' NME'' calling it an innovative and boundary-pushing audiovisual show. Following the release of ''Isles'', Bicep were nominated in two categories at the 2021

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

for 'British Group' and 'Breakthrough Artist'.

Live performances

Between 2017 and 2018, the duo embarked on a live headline world tour to venues across the world, including the US, Japan and Europe. In the UK, they played shows at Electric Brixton, Roundhouse and three consecutive dates at

Printworks Printworks may refer to: * Printworks (London), a nightclub and events space in Rotherhithe *The Printworks (Manchester) The Printworks is an urban entertainment venue offering a cinema, clubs and eateries, located on the corner of Withy Grov ...

in London, which was filmed by ''Resident Advisor'' and one of their final live shows until 2020. Bicep headlined their first major British festival at Field Day in August 2021.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other charted songs

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * *http://thisismusicltd.com/artist/bicep/ {{authority control Musical duos from Northern Ireland Electronic music groups from Northern Ireland Electronic music duos Musical groups from Belfast DJs from Belfast Ninja_Tune_artists