ISLES (3LP, NEON ORANGE COLOUR VINYL)

Tracklist: 1. Atlas 2. Cazenove 3. Apricots 4. Saku (feat. Clara La San) 5. Lido 6. X (feat. Clara La San) 7. Rever (feat. Julia Kent) 8. Sundial 9. Fir 10. Hawk (feat. machìna) Belfast-born, London-based duo Bicep (Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson) release their hotly anticipated second album, šIsles›. Two years in the making, šIsles› expands on the artful energy of their 2017 debut šBicep›, while digging deeper into the sounds, experiences and emotions that have influenced their lives and work. They describe šIsles› as ša snapshot in time› of their work in this period, with the tracks designed to evolve in their different iterations from record to live show and beyond. šThis is definitely the home listening version,› says Matt, šthe live version will be much, much harder›. On the title, šWe have strong mixed emotions, connected to growing up on an island› they say, šwanting to leave, wanting to return›. For two natives of Belfast, any talk of islands, communities and identities will also have other, more domestic connotations, and has always been an aspect of their lives they™d been reluctant to talk about. šYou™d enter the club and it would be people from both sides of the tracks and they™d be hugging› says Andy, referring to massively influential Belfast club Shine, where both cut their musical teeth. šAnd the following week, they™d be with their mates rioting. It felt like the safest place but, on paper, it should have been the most dangerous›. Musically, too, they find echoes of those days in their work. šIt was like being smacked in the head with a hammer› Matt says, of the tunes that defined that scene, and which find expression in šIsles™› most raw and energetic corners. šIt was either very intense, in-your-face Italo tinged electro or really aggressive techno›. From those early days living and clubbing in Belfast, and particularly following their move to London over a decade ago, the breadth of music they™ve been exposed to during this time directly informs šIsles™› massive sonic palette. Both cite the joy of discovering Hindi vocals overheard from distant rooftops, snatches of Bulgarian choirs drifting from passing cars, hitting Shazam in a kebab house in the vain hopes of identifying a Turkish pop song. Lead single ˜Apricots™ encapsulates these disparate influences perfectly. Sampling traditional Malawian singers and The Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir, steeped in a shimmering bath of warm synths, its spare percussion and arresting vocals bring the big room chills of 90s rave, while still evoking something lost or forlorn. ˜Atlas™, the first track drawn from the record, its euphoric energy and bittersweet heft hit all the harder in uncertain times. It is, as Resident Advisor called it, šmusic that commiserates with you while you try to dance out your anxieties›.