In recent years, one of the most interesting dance groups to come to my attention is Bicep.
They are an electronic music producing duo from Belfast that formed in 2009.
They’re currently signed to Ninja Tunes, but they have released music on other labels, including Throne of Blood, Aus Music and others.
In recent years they’ve won some awards from DJMag and Mixmag. And during lockdown they performed a ticketed live stream broadcast across five-time zones.
One thing noticeable about their sound is that it’s very reminiscent of the progressive house of the early 90s. The type of music Sasha and Digweed played back in tha’ day.
When I listened to their 2017 album ‘Bicep’, it reminded me of many of the tracks, mixtapes, and producers from that era.
And I thought I write a little blog post about it.
So if you like Bicep and their albums Bicep and Glue, and you’re looking for similar-sounding from the early ’90s, then check out some of the links, albums and videos below.
Onwards…
Table of Contents
Sasha And John Digweed – Northern Exposure 1
This is a divisive album. Many consider it one of the pioneering progressive house mix CDs of the early ’90s. Whilst others believe it pretentious OTT epic hippy house bullshit.
Personally, I didn’t mind this album. However, I always preferred the second Renaissance album (I know there was no Sasha on that one) and the Northern Exposure 2. Both of which were good progressive house mix albums. For me, those other compilations contained more dancey, faster and better prog house.
Northern Exposure 1 had a bit too much ambient music for my liking. But aside from that it has some fine tunes.
I own the original vinyl release of Northern Exposure which contained a selection of singles from the CD. It’s a shame I didn’t take good care of it because it’s worth a tidy sum these days (not that’d probably sell it even if it were a mint copy).
They released this album in 1996, and that was roughly the year (I think) I got into DJ’ing. And like a lot of other DJs back then, I was mixing my fair share of progressive and epic house (remember that house genre name).
There are some cracking tracks on this album, including God Within’s epic Raincry which is very Bicep’esq.
Other noticeable tracks are ‘Castle Trancelot’s the Gloom’, ‘UltraViolets – Kites’, and ‘Fuzzy Logics’ superb ‘Obsession’.
One of UltraViolets other tracks can be found on this mix of mine (click here to download it).
The unforgettable ‘Dark and Long’ by Underworld is on this album. That track always reminds me of the horrific scene in the film Trainspotting (if you’ve not seen that film, and like 90’s culture, then go and watch that movie – it’s squalid classic).
If you like Northern Exposure and to find some similar mix albums, I’d suggest listening to the following:
- Northern Exposure 2 (more trancey, but I think it’s a better album)
- The Global Underground Mix series nos. 1,2 & 13 (most GU mixes can be found on YouTube)
- Nick Warren Global Underground mixes (YouTube is your friend)
Rabbit In the Moon
If you want to find similar-sounding music producers to Bicep, then have a poke around Rabbit in the Moons back catalogue.
Many Rabbit in the Moon (RITM for short) tracks or remixes featured on Sasha and Digweed’s mixes. So that gives you an idea of the type of sound they have.
RITM produced lots of ambient, psychedelic trance and other crazy-sounding stuff.
RITM is a band which have always had their sound. And hell, they were (and still are) prolific producers and remixes.
What to check out first?
I could fill this page with all their great tracks – there are loads of them. So it’s a difficult task trying to pick just a few.
But here’s a some worth mentioning:
And I always loved their remix of Keoki’s Caterpillar’s, which once featured on a Simpsons episode:
Honestly, these guys produced loads of great tracks. If you fancy killing a few hours – whilst listening to some great trance, breakbeat, techno and ambient – then look them up on YouTube.
There’s also footage of their live performances, which are meant to be killer.
Hybrid – Wide Angle
Probably one of the best breakbeat acts of all time. They mix breaks, progressive house, trance, and orchestration to perfection. And their best work (IMO) was this first album.
Many peoples first introduction to their music came via Sasha & Digweed’s other prog mix classic – Northern Exposure 2, which featured the superb “Symphony” – later released as ‘Finished Symphony’ (track is featured below).
When Wider Angle was released in 1999, it was an authentic refreshing sound. Around that time progressive house had gotten more serious and techier. And the big epic melodies of the mid 90s progressive house had almost disappeared. Then along came Hybrid with this masterpiece.
This album still sounds good by today’s standards. Hybrids production skills were always top-notch. Every track on this album has excellent drum programming, warm basslines, and impressive melodies. There’s also some damn fine scratching on some of their tracks, which I think was provided by one of the Scratch Perverts.
Hybrid’s music is much more melodic and not as bare compared with Bicep. But if you like atmospheric electronic music – especially breakbeat – then go and listen to this album.
I still play this track quite a bit in my recent DJ sets. And you can find it on this mix of mine (click to download).
Way Out West – Way Out West
Way Out West is another superb British electronic duo who’ve been knocking out tracks, remixes, and compilations for decades.
They have a massive back catalogue, especially when you look at all the remixes they made.
I’ll be honest, I’ve not listened to most of their work after their 2001 album Intensify. But their first album (the self-titled Way Out West) is excellent listening if you’re looking for music with that Bicep sound.
Their first album sounds good even by today’s standards. There’s a lot going on in this initial album, including some belting trancey breakbeat, straight-up 4/4 dancefloor trance, and some slower tracks.
If you like this album, I’d hunt down some of their remixes which they made between 94-97. They remixed one of my favourite oldschool house tracks: Subliminal Cuts – Le Voie Le Soleil.
The lovely moody breaks stormer Blue. What a tune.
This tune reminds me of a sun-kissed summer day. Class record.
This is a much darker sounding track than the other two.
You can find Ajare by Way Out West on this mix of mine.
Crystal Method – Vegas
The Crystal Method is a pair of American producers formed in Las Vegas in the early 1990s.
They are famous for integrating a rockier breakbeat sound, but they did make some superb trancey style breaks.
You might find their music a tad harder than Bicep, but still worth listening to if you like well-produced breakbeat.
The last track has a slight nod to the big beat sound which was massively popular around the time of release (the late 90s).
Conclusion
So, I hope you enjoyed this little list. If you think I’ve missed anything, why not post some suggestions below. I’ll be happy to add them if I believe they are good.
This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list. There were many more trancey breakbeat producers during the 90s. But if you like Biceps and want more of that type of music, check some of these albums and artists out.
I also quite like writing these articles because they remind me about great artists and tracks I’d forgotten about.
Right, now I’m off to cain a few of these albums on my fancy valve HiFi – volume up to 11.
Keep on scratchin,
James DJ Kippax
PS: If you’d like me to make a mix of this sort of stuff, leave a comment. If enough people, ask I’ll try and make a mix of some of the best tunes from this period.