LIVE: Bicep, Global Livestream

Aided by the promise of new material and spectacular visuals, the Belfast duo's globally streamed set demonstrated their electronic music mastery, only increasing cravings for a big stage, in-the-flesh reunion.

Posted: 14 September 2020 Words: Ellis Maddison

From bearing witness to Bicep at Leeds’ infamous rave warehouse that is Canal Mills, and via Creamfield’s immense festival screens amongst a tent jam-packed full of like-minded tech heads, it’s safe to say the Belfast duo are more than capable of shutting down any venue. Having to settle for a pandemic-induced livestream to supplement a third Bicep experience was undoubtedly a downgrade. Though, considering the circumstances - and aided by expensive speakers and a rotating party light - Bicep’s hour-long stream could certainly be appreciated.

The stream opened with a sterile, white-hot backdrop centring the two Bicep boys who stood opposite each other armed to the teeth with an obscene host of decks, keys, knobs and faders, which wouldn’t look out of place on the dashboard of a space shuttle. What each button corresponded to is a mystery, but it was quickly evident why Bicep are renowned as the seasoned wizards of electronic music.

Gradually building the start of the stream with different layers of kicks and claps, Bicep’s trademark psychedelic ambience was formally introduced with their latest single ‘Atlas’. The duo then moved through unreleased tunes and reworked break-beat hits, while hallucinatory visuals became increasingly prominent on-screen, vividly contrasting the whiteness of the room. By the midway mark of the stream Bicep were demonstrating their fine-tuned formula in full flow. It was easy to see why their use of stop-start bass beats keeps heads nodding and fists pumping, while their constant maintenance of looming background auras, which eventually amassed into awesome crescendos, further evidenced Bicep’s unparalleled genius in their genre.

Approaching the twilight of their set, all sound was cut before a subtle clap note set the ball rolling for a euphoric build-up to ‘Glue’ - Bicep’s top-known tune was aptly mixed to a higher bpm than usual to send listeners all over the globe into a worldwide state of awe, undoubtedly influencing housemates (and no doubt anyone savvy enough to buy a ticket) to look to one another in simultaneous recognition of DJ duo’s masterclass.

Bicep draw elements from tech, house and trance to fulfil their unique electronic sound that has unsurprisingly become an archetypal genre on the international DJ scene. With the stunning audio-visual display quickly coming to an end, one can only fantasise about the next time we can see Bicep on the big stage again. Hopefully that time will be soon.