Bicep

London based, Belfast-born blogger-production-dj duo Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson need little by way of introduction. Their ‘Feel My Bicep blog” is the go-to place for tastemakers world-wide for lost and forgotten disco / Chicago house / Detroit techno / Italo edits and everything in-between. On a production tip, they have released on such labels as Throne Of Blood, Traveller Records, Mystery Meat and 2012 saw their critically acclaimed track $tripper get released on Love Fever hitting the top chart spots on Juno and selling out worldwide. Their remix track record has also been excellent with them stamping their distinguished sound upon works from Blondes, Toby Tobias, Disclosure, Blood Orange, Cosmic Kids and many more for labels such as Domino, Wolf Music and Tusk. Will Saul then snapped them up for his label Aus, with a collaborative EP including tracks “You” and “Don’t” which once again hit number one on Juno and caused the Beatport charts some bother. The Feel My Bicep label launched in September 2012 with the highly sought after“Vision Of Love.” It received great press worldwide and once again sold out whilst hitting the top spot at the stores. Room hosts at Fabric, a residency at We Love in Ibiza and bookings at Manchester’s Warehouse Project then ensued, with 2012 ending very nicely for the duo who came in at 32 on the Resident Advisor End Of Year DJ Poll. 2013 saw Bicep tour globally, including dates in North & South America, Australia, Asia and Dubai. With an especially busy summer packed full of festivals. Between gigs, Bicep were hard at work in the studio and had a string of successful releases beginning with Stash on Aus. Which was followed by a collaboration with production heavy hitters Simian Mobile Disco, and the result was Sacrifice released on SMD’s own Delicacies label. The track proved to be another success and was undoubtedly the work of two duos at the top of their production games. After Sacrifice came the three track release Satisfy, the second release on Feel My Bicep records. Like the first release on the Feel My Bicep label, FMB002 provided to be a huge hit, gaining radio and DJ support world wide as well as selling out. Bicep also showed their ability to rework a track and they turned in two remixes of Aster – Cielo, on John Talabot’s Hivern Discs. On top of the music, Bicep released a limited edition range of Feel My Bicep T-shirts for which the demand outstripped supply leading to them selling out very quickly. As the year drew to a close they embarked on an Australian tour over new year and rose up 4 places to 28 on the Resident Advisor top 100 DJs poll. In 2014 Bicep continued where they left off with another three track ep released on Aus in May which leant towards their techno side. They also contributed to Will Saul’s DJ Kicks compilation with their track Nova. This was then followed up with a remix for London based party and label Tief. During this time the Feel My Bicep events grew stronger throughout the year with the hosting of the Todd Terje London album launch at Oval Space and an FMB event at London’s Corsica Studios and Berlins Panorama Bar the later being a collaborative event with Frankfurt’s Robert Johnson. Feel My Bicep records had two main releases in 2014, the first (FMB003) being a remix 12” of their previous track Satisfy. Both John Talabot and Brassica turned in brilliant remixes which then led onto the release of FMB004, a 4 track club 12” including Lyk Lyk, the Italo techno hybrid Poly Pineapple and two collaborations with their old blog contributor Hammer called Icebowl and Day 3. Around this time their Essential Mix aired on BBC Radio One and was shortlisted as one of four best essential mixes of 2015. They also had standout sets with their We Love Residency at Space in Ibiza and closing the Yuma tent at Coachella. At the end of 2014 they linked up with another Aus affiliate Midland and released a club 12” white label called D-Mil which gained plenty of support across the BBC and further afield. In 2015 the relationship with Aus is further developed with a new EP as well as remixes confirmed for Brassica’s new album and some British acid house royalty (TBA.) Also a spattering of one off tracks for various compilations are also planned. Their first Feel My Bicep party in USA is takes place in LA in March with Australia, Japan and European tours confirmed in the coming months.