BICEP have today released “TANGZ”, the latest single from their ongoing CHROMA project. The track sees them ramp up the tempo, with vocals from esteemed UK singer/songwriter ELIZA.
“We have both been fans of Eliza for years and actually worked on a remix she sang on over 10 years ago now” says the pair. “Her most recent album “A Sky Without Stars” shows an amazing side to her voice and the direction her sound has developed in recent years. The first single “Straight talker” was so strong, it had all the touchstones of amazing 90s neo-soul and r’n’b we loved, but sounded new and fresh.
We got in touch with a track we had in mind that might work, and then sent her some ideas and she came back with a full vocal. The track really just fell in place when we listened to her first take. We nearly always take the vocals and pretty much start again from scratch, sort of remixing our own demo. We have been messing around in the studio on faster chopped up breaks and this felt like the perfect opportunity to take a track from almost hip hop feeling to full breaks over the course of the song.“
The track, which debuted all the way back at BICEP’s 2023 Drumsheds takeover — and has been on rotation ever since — comes hot on the heels of the duo’s return to the London mega-venue, where they hosted a sold-out “CHROMA in the Sheds” takeover, with three rooms of curated lineups featuring the likes of Anz, Call Super b2b Pariah, FJAAK, Helena Hauff, Saiorse and many more.
“It’s always like home playing in London and Drumsheds being the printworks crew again feels like home” says BICEP. “Always very special getting the chance to really stretch our legs and probably play the toughest we will play and a little longer than normal. Both shows have been real favourites of ours”
Going on to describe how “TANGZ” fits into their CHROMA live shows, they say: “Tempo-wise it really is at the far reaches of something we’ve made to date. It has a feeling that is common in our music but the tempo is more foreign in the aspect of our usual work. It’s worked really nice towards the end of our sets, showing a different flavour from us and much faster tempo allowing us to move through jungle and bass music sounds.”
BICEP’s ambitious CHROMA project — comprising a record label, a series of curated events, a brand new and constantly evolving AV/DJ show, and a unique visual identity created in collaboration with David Rudnick and his Terrain creative studio — began almost exactly a year ago with the release of “CHROMA 001 HELIUM”, and has since included two singles under their B.D.B alias (the collaborative project with Benjamin Damage): “A.L.O.E” and “L.A.V.A”; the BICEP track “ROLA”; “Bi83” (as DOVE); and most recently “STEALL”, their collaboration with childhood friend and fellow Bellfast-native Hammer. A physical CHROMA release, including the existing catalogue of singles, plus those due for release over the coming months, will be released later in the year.
Speaking about their upcoming plans for the label BICEP say, “We have another DOVE track incoming and hopefully a final one under Bicep aimed at the festivals! We also have some very exciting CHROMA tour dates in 2025 including shows in NZ, AUS, France, Scandinavia, Spain, Romania, Ireland and the US.”
The duo’s CHROMA AV/DJ shows — which are actually more of a hybrid between DJ and live, involving the use of several pedals and a drum machine they can use on stage — have already taken in headline slots at Glastonbury, Coachella, Wilderness festival, plus two epic sold-out takeovers of London’s Finsbury Park and Brighton Beach. Their 2024 North American tour also included a headline show at Brooklyn Mirage, plus stops at Portola, Making Time and CRSSSD festivals, with additional shows at MIRA (Barcelona’s Digital Arts Festival), Manchester’s Warehouse Project, and a special show under their DOVE alias as part of Fabric’s 25th birthday event — a poignant moment for the pair, which saw Matt McBriar return to playing out for the first time since revealing he had recently undergone major brain surgery to remove a large and rare (non-cancerous) Craniopharyngioma tumour on his pituitary gland.
