CHROMA 010 by Bicep
BICEP — the Northern Irish duo of Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar — have unveiled the last in their series of CHROMA releases. “CHROMA 010 BRILLO” brings to a close the current CHROMA label output, just part of their ambitious and sprawling CHROMA project, which also comprises a series of curated events — including two epic sold-out takeovers of London’s Finsbury Park, Brighton Beach and consecutive sold-out takeovers of London’s 15k capacity Drumsheds — a brand new and constantly evolving Bicep AV/DJ show, and a unique visual identity created in collaboration with David Rudnick and his Terrain studio,
Speaking on the latest single, and the wider CHROMA label, BICEP says:
“As we look back on our journey with the CHROMA series, we've always aimed to strike a balance between looking to the past and embracing the future. Although we weren't part of the clubbing scene during its heyday in the 90s, being outside of it has given us a fresh perspective that's allowed us to reimagine these influences in a modern context.
By taking elements from this era and merging them with our own sound, we've created a fusion which helps contextualise this sound in a more modern way. This approach has enabled us to stay true to the essence of the 90s while infusing it with the styles we're known for.
This final CHROMA release, “BRILLO” embodies this vision, blending euphoric, 90s-esq riffs with soulful vocals, adding a touch of softness that subtly casts a shadow over the series.”
Beginning back in January ‘24, the releases on CHROMA — which all feature Ferguson & McBriar in some form — were formulated with an ethos to cover everything “from Acid to Alkaline”, with the label acting as both a home for their own more underground club focused productions, and also a platform to share their wider music styles. “We’ve increasingly wanted to show a more rounded picture of what we do in the studio,” they explained ahead of its launch. “We do a lot of more heavy techno focused music, ambient and various other styles that don't really fit into the “BICEP” sound, and which often never sees the light of day. The label was designed to evolve and draw on inspiration constantly, both musically and aesthetically. We wanted to use CHROMA to push our sounds and challenge people more than we probably have in the past, to essentially create a world that’s an up to date representation of us both personally in terms of our evolving tastes”
Kicking off with the release of “CHROMA 001 HELIUM”, the label has unveiled a new digital release roughly every 6 weeks since, including tracks under BICEP’s B.D.B alias (the collaborative project with Benjamin Damage): “A.L.O.E” and “L.A.V.A”; their DOVE alias: “Bi83” and “KR36” — a collaboration with London-based artist Kehina; and the BICEP tracks “ROLA”, “STEALL” — their collaboration with childhood friend and fellow Belfast-native Hammer, “TANGZ” featuring ELIZA; and finally, today’s “BRILLO” release. A special physical CHROMA boxset release, compiling the existing catalogue of singles will be announced and released later in the year.
