Bi-Bop (ReviveHER) had a little chat with Bicep.

They talk about blog, music and what to expect at secretsundaze NYE. 

Hi guys, can you give yourselves a little intro as to who makes up Bicep and how your infamous blog got started?

The blog started when we all moved apart and finding tracks from our local scenes. It was masterminded after a Panorama Bar session, sitting at Bar 25, killing who we thought were eclectic DJs with our knowledge haha. We spend so much time searching for records we thought we needed to get some of our stuff out there.

Over the past couple of years, Feel My Bicep, has really pickedup in popularity. Can you give any pointers on how to direct traffic to a blog or is there an underlying reason for the growthof the website / blog?

It kinda hasn’t changed in traffic. We have had a regular 10K hits a day for 2 years. Just now we post less. The only tip I would say, is keep quality control and don’t get forced into posting big label tracks you think are shit, as in the end it devalues your selection.

How did you get in touch with James Friedman or did he find you?

Haha, this was a weird one. We met him in a sauna in NYC. He was telling us how he could make anyone big time, whilst blowing cigar smoke in some Chinese girl’s face. It was a match made in heaven really.

Are your Throne of Blood releases your first introduction in to the production world or have you been dabbling in it before? Why only now?

Yea, we have been doing bits n bobs before. Mainly techno and also a lot of work on the production side of a couple of major’s projects. We are still finding our sound, so not really rushing things. It was more important working with a label we liked than getting as much stuff as possible out.

Do you feel your brand / website has benefited a lot from the releases or do you feel it also works the other way in that it enables more exposure for your production work?

It’s weird. People don’t really associate our releases with the blog,, only more recently. ..But yeah, it helps having a good platform to put your stuff out to the perfect audience.  I love our readers because they are like us: we don’t like getting sold stuff when we are looking at music. At the end of the day we are a blog and we don’t take it too seriously. Too many music sites think the world owes them. We are just waiting for the day google strikes the ban hammer down over our site, so we can at least enjoy it while its still there. No point trying to make a quick buck from a tacky brand.

You must be DJing a lot more since the growth of Feel My Bicep and your releases. Where have you played that’s overtly excited you this year and do you have any cool gigs booked next year?

Err a couple of veunes in Shanghai were pretty ace.  Looking forward to next year. Lining some more Asia action up as we speak,  maybe Australia while we are that side of town. But defo doing some US stuff: NYC, LA San Fran and Miami all need squared up, but we are gonna make it happen. There is talk of playing the hotel where Paris is burning was filmed. That sounds ace.

Also in London we are playing a party called Blackout with our friend Luca C. It's named after the 1977 blackout in New York; once during the night we'll cut the power out for a few minutes and have some kind of performance/gimmick going on..musically its about the darker side of acid/Chicago house/Detroit with a bit of new stuff. But no disco. Promise us, it will be big.

You’re doing a Feel My Bicep party on Sunday 2nd January in London. Can you tell us a little more about this and who you’vegot playing.

It’s a party just to ease into the New Year and let everyone meet each other.  So far we have confirmed James Friedman, Max Pask (Populette), Soft Rocks, Bi-Bop and ourselves. But defo more on the way, its gonna be a proper throw down.

Will you be doing any more parties in the future?

Probably not in London but maybe one at  Studio warehouse in Glasgow. The last one was huge. Thinking of doing one on the roof of a lighthouse on the bund in Shanghai, which will be a definite if we go across again.

You must be getting asked to do remixes now? Are there any exciting artists you’re currently remixing for or will be in the process of soon?

Done a Todd Terry esq sample heavy ruff cut for Tal M Klein and a deep house jam for Cosmic Kids. We have had quite a few offers, but gonna keep our quality control pretty high.

Do you have original material coming out in 2011 and who with?

Yeah. Got a Throne of Blood 12” and a Mystery Meat 12” out in the first half of the year.

Originally as a blog, you’re delving deep into discovery daily to post up new tracks. Can you tell use your secret on the detective front?

Talking to people. If you find a rare track you love. Find someone who used it in a mix online and ask them to recommend you stuff. Talk to record shops as them, but don’t rely on one person. Most of the best sources aren’t DJs. They are in a discogs forum geekin it up.

What sound would you say describes you best and what kind of set can we expect to hear on NYE in the ReviveHER room @ secretsundaze?

Very Deep. Expect to hear the deeper side of our music tastes. ReviveHER and ss are very eclectic, so we will prob mix it up, I think the crowd are up for anything really. We have been in their place many times before.

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