Review: The Focused, Minimalist Trance Of Bicep’s ‘Sundial’

Bicep | Sundial (single) | Ninja Tune

Release Date: 12 January, 2021

In anticipation of their latest and highly anticipated LP ‘Isles’ which is set to release on January 22nd via Ninja Tune, beloved electronic duo Bicep have released their newest single ‘Sundial’. Bicep are known for experimenting with various genres and styles; and in ‘Sundial’, the track contains a sample from ‘Jab Andhera Hota Hai’, taken from the 1973 Bollywood film Raja Rani, recorded by Asha Bhosle & Bhupinder Singh, and written by Anand Bakshi and R. D. Burman.

This is probably one of the simplest tracks on the album, it grew from a faulty Jupiter 6 arp recording. Our trigger isn’t working properly and the arp skips notes randomly. This was a small segment taken from a recording of Andy just playing the arp live whilst we were just trying to figure out what was going wrong. We actually loved what it had produced and wrote some chords around it, guided by the feeling of this recording.

Bicep on ‘Sundial’

Hard hitting percussion and standout, vivid beats engulf listeners in a minimalist yet focused and entrancing experience, akin to mesmerising video game soundtracks assisting one defeating the most difficult of villains; the simplistic yet atmospheric drive bewitching in its lush trance.

Rating: 7 / 10

Feature Image: Bicep photographed by Dan Medhurst