CHROMA 003 by DOVE
Fresh from debuting their new CHROMA A/V DJ show at this year's Coachella festival, Bicep — AKA Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar — have announced the newest release from their ongoing CHROMA project: DOVE - “Bi83”.
Played out at their standout Coachella performances, “Bi83” is the latest music under their DOVE alias — which the duo describe as “an extreme version of the Bicep sound. Heavier but also calmer” — and embodies the ‘From Acid to Alkaline’ tagline of the label as it moves from its ethereal opening into a distorted, acid-tinged synth line.
Writing on their DISCORD server, Bicep says: “DOVE will hopefully be a place where we can put more singular ideas down, less focused on complete songs and more on experimental concepts we work on in the studio. For example, this first release was about restricting ourselves to human voices and acid to make the majority of sounds. Long-term we would like DOVE to lean into the sounds we grew up with, with a rave leaning ascetic, but at this stage we’re just excited to start growing it and see where it goes.”
Bicep also recently unveiled CHROMAVISION: a 30-minute short film created by Zak Norman, with creative input from David Rudnick and an exclusive soundtrack of CHROMA music — both released and unreleased — from Bicep. The film premiered last month at a sold-out launch party in LA, in collaboration with Brain Dead.
“Bi83” follows the recently released collaboration with Benjamin Damage (under their alias B.D.B) “L.A.V.A”, and inaugural CHROMA single “HELIUM”, and is the latest excursion in Bicep’s ambitious new CHROMA project. Comprising a record label, a series of curated events, 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, support for CHROMA has come so far from The Observer, Guardian, Resident Advisor, Billboard, MTV, FADER, Wonderland, NME, Mixmag, DJ Mag, Stereogum, Notion, Paste, The Line Of Best Fit, PopMatters, Brooklyn Vegan and many more. With Bicep also appearing on the cover of Disco Pogo’s April Issue.
It’s the latest in a run of new music set for release on CHROMA throughout 2024, with the duo also hosting a number of “Bicep Present CHROMA” takeovers, at London’s Finsbury Park and Brighton Beach later this year.
Though billed as an AV/DJ performance, the ‘Bicep present CHROMA’ shows are actually more of a hybrid between DJ and live. The pair have several pedals and a drum machine they can use on stage, and there is a connection between the decks and the visuals team which allows the latter to see what is being played in real-time adapting their visuals accordingly. This in turn gives Bicep the freedom to experiment with each performance, keeping the visuals and music working in tandem, no matter the direction they decide to take things.
