Something odd happened a few days following the release of Bicep's second album, Isles. A midweek headline confirmed it was neck-and-neck for number one album in the UK. They were edged out, just barely, but the duo's UK #2, combined with multiple Billboard placements in the US, a #2 in their native Northern Ireland, #3 in Belgium, #8 in Germany, #12 in Australia, et al., stands as a stunning accomplishment for a couple of dance music nerds who were posting Italo cuts on their blog not so long ago.

Of course, behind every success story, there's sweat equity. Bicep painstakingly revamped their creative process after their 2017 debut LP, crafting over 150 tracks leading up to Isles. They're also carrying success admirably. In March of last year, they preemptively cancelled two gigs at 02 Academy Brixton, spoke out against "rich DJs playing big raves during a pandemic" and are taking steps to make sure their samples open up two-way conversations.

We spoke with Bicep's Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson as they prepared for their second global livestream, going down this Friday at London's Saatchi Gallery.

First off, congrats on the success. I imagine it's an odd feeling releasing your most-successful work to date without the live coronation. Have your lives changed since Isles?

Yeah, we dealt with a lot of the more negative feelings last year and when we decided to go ahead with the album, we wanted to look forward in a positive manner. While a lot of obstacles have been thrown up with regards to how we'd traditionally approach an album campaign, we really have dived into the digital side headfirst. We wanted to explore streaming to its full extent, trying to make it as special as it could be. In some respects, it's been nice to really feel challenged by these limitations.

Can you speak a bit about the idea of easing off? Beyond the big beat stuff, a lot of dance music that's crossed over—Moby, Everything But The Girl—has a more mellow, downtempo element. Can you speak on how this stylistic choice, as well as timing, might have contributed to the success of the album?

Our first album was a bit of a mixture of both, some home listening tracks and some more club-focused, which we were happy with at the time but we hit some obstacles when it came to performing the album. Some tracks just didn't translate to a live performance like we envisaged. When it came to deconstructing the elements we realised they were a sum of their parts and each element didn't really hold up on its own.

For this album we really wanted to sit down and try to work out a strong DNA for the music, a musical core that translated easily to different settings and performances. A vast majority of the album began on the piano and when we came to fleshing out demos, we tried many of them at multiple tempos and with lots of different drum directions. This really helped inform our writing process. When tracks started to just become alive, they had energy regardless of the drums or synth used, that really felt like we were capturing something we felt we could both perform and heavily develop.

Once we reached this stage we decided to have a rule of no 4/4 club-focused versions on the record, as we knew that everything could in time translate to being much tougher and faster for our live show. That decision gave us freedom to explore the music more sensitively with the idea of it being digested in alternative settings unrelated to clubs and festivals. This was really liberating and challenging at the same time.

I quite like what you've done with the samples on the record, spotlighting the creators and viewing sampling as an ongoing cultural conversation. Also, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, sampled on "Apricots," is one of the most magical pieces I'm aware of. Can you speak on the idea of ethical sampling and the relationships you've built with the artists you've sampled?

We've never been shy from sampling in our music, but in this day and age, the idea of borrowing sounds from different places or cultures without then giving proper dues and credit doesn't sit right with us. On Isles we cleared all the samples we used, but that doesn't go far enough in our opinion. We're keen to shed light and give context on the samples, where they have come from and how we have used them to be transparent. So we credit everything both on sleeve notes and on DSPs as well as linking to the original music and creators via our website.

Rights ownership is very complex, you never really know who owns the catalogue you're clearing the sample from, and of course, you don't know what kind of deals those catalogue owners have with the creators. Especially for those in old label / publishing deals, one isn't sure if the creators are being rewarded properly or accounted to.

In the case of "Apricots" the rights owner for Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares is a family-owned business with a good reputation so we were satisfied having dealt with them on a couple of samples.

However, in the case of the other "Apricots" sample, "Gebede-Gebede Ulendo Wasabwerae," that was taken from a field recording from the '70s in Malawi of 8 Elderly Women & 2 Drummers. After clearing it with the correct registered copyright owners we felt that there was basically zero chance that those creators or their community were going to see any of the sample clearance fees or royalties. So we did some further research and chose a Malawian charity and orphanage and have since made a donation. They are currently supporting 36 girls during the reintegration process announced by the government last year and our donation is going towards secondary school and university fees for some of those girls. We are looking forward to continuing to support this charity in the future and are in regular direct contact with them.

Speaking of community, from the fanzine-style blog that put Bicep on the map to the label, it feels like the project has always been about highlighting the pioneers and putting new artists on. How do you plan to continue with these efforts in light of recent success?

Initially it was an outlet for our music and re-edits in which we had full creative control, but as time went on we started to look to new talent. The label has never been about signing a bunch of existing tracks from an artist. We usually discover and contact artists via SoundCloud or Instagram to start building a rapport. The EPs usually come together over several months to a year of feedback and demos. A lot of the artists come down to our studio to use some of our equipment and work on mixing the records here, the artists always have full creative control and we just help in a practical / advisory sense. We were lucky to have James and Jas from Simian Mobile Disco who really opened our eyes to the possibilities of a very hands-on studio and mentored us. Having since built that ourselves we really want to help pass that on wherever possible.

Mentoring and supporting younger artists is something we really feel strongly about and we do have another label we're planning in conjunction with Youth Music. Focusing on developing talent even in the pre-demo phase with the idea of bringing the next generation of artists into our studio. However due to Covid-19 and social distancing, we've had to put the idea on hold for the time being.

You've spent three months remixing material off Isles in preparation for Friday's livestream concert at Saatchi Gallery. Can you walk us through the process? What makes a compelling livestream?

As we said above the idea of reimagining the music for different settings was core to the album's idea. We really started the process at the very beginning of writing so this was really just a continuation of that and just having the music ready to perform. It's been really fun. With regards to a compelling livestream, we're no experts but the visual side is so important. At the end of the day, it's two guys hunched over a load of hardware in a white box so we really wanted to put emphasis on the visual element and bring that energy to people at home. [Visual Designer] Zak [Norman]'s a longtime friend and collaborator and we all got our heads down as to how to make this really punch as hard as possible at home. While a livestream really isn't our intended outlet for our music, it's been really fun to work on and we're very proud of how the Saatchi stream has come together. It's been great to be so challenged in a year where our normal outlet has been totally cut off.

I remember stepping into a club in LA and hearing Roman Flügel play "Just." It was a hair-raising moment, which in retrospect feels like a turning point from the '90s house-inspired sound of earlier releases to the more expansive trance and synths vibe that culminates with Isles. This stylistic switch was also due to a lost hard drive, correct? Where do you see the project headed next?

The hard drive loss indirectly meant that we focused less on the past demos and started with a fresh slate. We were also in the early phase of learning music theory when we were splicing together the '90s house stuff but had a better grasp on expressing ourselves on the piano by the time "Just" was made. The idea of taking advantage of new technology and incorporating it into old equipment is still something there is lots we can do with. We are still keen to explore the idea where every element of a song is performed fully live, like we do in the live show to a certain extent, or how a band would record. Weirdly the importance of the live aspect is lost a little with computers and editing, but it requires you to learn equipment and effects inside out to really express yourself in the right way.

You've both advocated against "plague raving," cancelling major Brixton shows even before the lockdown went into effect. You've also been outspoken about the detrimental effect Brexit visa policies will have on emerging UK artists. Do you see the increased visibility of Bicep as necessitating or allowing for more advocacy in terms of policy or just being a good actor in the community?

We do believe saying nothing is saying something. Having been in the industry for over ten years now, it’s hard not to feel a real sense of responsibility to speak out on stuff we believe truly goes against the collective idea of dance music. That said, we only represent our own views.

Stepping back to something simpler, what have you been listening to, reading, watching or eating during the pandemic? What's nice about being at home?

Matt McBriar: Being at home and seeing my fiancé for extended periods of time has been amazing and it's really highlighted how important those closest to you are. Cooking has always been a huge passion and something that I sadly can't do anywhere near enough when touring. It's something I've been able to really delve into more deeply this past year and experiment a lot. It's been great to have the time to spend three days on a meal instead of 30 minutes. Gardening is another hobby and something that's been equally amazing to have the time to really focus on.

Andy Ferguson: Think the last year has made me realise how important close friends and family are, while on tour you don't get a chance to stop and think, you miss simple things and it's nice to feel you have a grasp of even the most mundane aspects of life with your closest. I've been trying to learn different languages with the view of being able to read books and research into cultures my current language set has restricted me from. Started getting obsessed and reading lots of boxing books starting from the 1800s working my way until now, chronologically watching as many fights as are on YouTube.

With the blog, you were preaching to the converted, but Isles has obviously gone far beyond that. "Glue" became a TikTok phenomenon as well. Have you heard from younger fans that are interacting with your music in ways you couldn't have envisioned? Are you getting demos from kids who are having road to Damascus moments with "Atlas"?

It's funny, we didn't even really know what TikTok was until we got lots of tweets about it. Things have changed so much since our beginnings running the blog on wordpress and FMB as a vinyl-only label, but it's exciting. We really embrace all the new technology and Ninja Tune have been amazing at pushing us to utilise it, helping our music spread to areas we never thought. Getting a chance to work on a filter as part of the album campaign was really fun. It's hard to really comment personally on any impact we've had but it's amazing to see some of the ways that people have discovered us.

You've both referred to the era between 2010 and 2015 wistfully as something we might look back on as a "golden era" in dance music. Gloomy question, but do you feel a bubble may have popped with the onset of the pandemic? Any predictions or thoughts on the year ahead?

We both believe the arts will always survive and possibly this is a scorched earth moment, giving space for new shoots. I think the dance music community will need to really pull together coming out of this but hopefully it will only make it stronger. It's been amazing to see the explosion of talent coming through and new ideas that feel incredibly fresh and our hope is that some truly amazing art will grow from this.