More about: Bicep

A bare room stripped of all its art in a closed and empty Saatchi Gallery should be an odd venue for Northern Irish dance duo Bicep to host their first live set after the release of their much-anticipated sophomore album Isles earlier this year - yet as soon as Matthew McBriar and Andrew Ferguson take the stage at the centre of the almost clinical-looking space it all falls into place. With screens soon layered with distorted visual effects transporting the audience in and out of reality, the London art gallery is transformed from a blank canvas into a groundbreaking audio-visual experience.

Opening with the gently expanding and hypnotically atmospheric Isles gem ‘Lido’, the duo go on to showcase track after track from the new record. It all feels sleek and polished at first, like a rave with the energy turned down a few levels to make it living room friendly. The intensity is soon gradually increased and by the time the duo drop classics ‘Opal’ and ‘You’ about halfway through the set we find ourselves in the midst of a space that feels like it is as far away from home as it can get. Having previously described the album as the “home listening version” of tracks that, in their live format, “will be much, much harder”, it is clear that McBriar and Ferguson are able to move fluidly between the two while effortlessly carrying the audience with them wherever they chose to go. 

The 90-minute set is accompanied by a visual performance worthy of a headline slot in an art gallery in its own right. Frames of the duo and their equipment in the middle of the exhibition room captured from all possible angles are intertwined with colourful overlays which are mesmerisingly hypnotic one second and psychedelically spellbinding the next. There are squares, circles, distortion, kaleidoscopic explosions and a couple of guest appearances of the spiralling Isles album artwork. The contrast between the minimalistic set up and the visuals could not be greater, yet merged together they create something holistically unique that amplifies every second of audio that comes out of the speakers. 

There is almost an emptiness left after the last sounds of the closing track ‘Aura’ have faded away, an emptiness accompanied by flashbacks reminiscent of being stranded in a club when the music stops and the lights come back on at the end of a night out. We are left with a feeling of not wanting to go home just yet, a rare occurrence during the past year’s homebound lockdown life and a feeling that speaks for itself as a proof of how good the show was.  

Bicep have, with their Global Live Stream II, pushed the limits of what a virtual show can be and have taken experiencing electronic music live in a streamed format to a whole new level. With the prospect of live shows retuning in some kind of physical form on the horizon for later this year, we can’t wait to see what the duo have in store for the real thing. If the live stream is in any way indicative of what is to be expected, we are certain it will be an experience not to be missed.

For the time being, for anyone who missed it the first time or just wants to see it again, the Bicep Live Global Stream II will be available to re-watch all weekend 12-14th March on-demand.

Bicep played:

Lido 
Siena Feat. Clara La San
X Feat. Clara La San   
Atlas 
Meli 
Opal 
You 
Cazenove 
Saku Feat Clara La San
Sundial
Glue 
Apricots 
Aura

More about: Bicep