Bicep was formed in 2009 as a production and DJing pair in London. The duo, childhood friends, created a blog called "Feel My Bicep", which was used to post lost and forgotten
disco,
Chicago house,
Detroit techno and
Italo disco edits. They released tracks on labels Throne of Blood, Traveller Records and Mystery Meat before joining Will Saul's Aus Music and setting up their own label Feel My Bicep in September 2012. That year the pair were awarded
DJ Mag's 'Best of British Breakthrough DJ' award. After signing to
Ninja Tune in 2017, Bicep released their debut album
Bicep, which went in at number 20 on the
UK Albums Chart, and received positive reviews from publications such as
Pitchfork,
The Guardian,
Resident Advisor and
Mixmag. The lead single, "Glue", was voted by the public as
DJ Mag's (Best of British) Track of the Year. It also reached number 1 on
Amazon's Best Electronic of 2017, and came second in
Mixmag's 100 Best Tracks of 2017. Bicep released their second album
Isles on Ninja Tune on 22 January 2021. They released the lead single "Apricots" with a music video from
BAFTA-winner director
Mark Jenkin. "Apricots" scored Top-50 entries in both the UK's Official Singles Chart hit #1 on the UK's Shazam chart, and spent 10 weeks on the BBC Radio 1 playlist. The album was nominated for Best Irish Album of 2021 for the
Choice Music Prize.
Isles was number one on the midweek
UK Albums Chart for the week beginning 25 January 2021, before debuting at number two on the final chart, scooping a number 1 on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart, additionally breaking into multiple Billboard charts including number 12 on the Dance/Electronic Chart. The duo made a pivot to ticketed streams during the coronavirus pandemic, delivering two shows broadcast across 5 timezones. The shows were watched in over 70 countries worldwide, giving fans new live material ahead of the return of in-person shows. The second global stream was recorded at London's
Saatchi Gallery and was awarded four stars by
The Guardian, with
NME calling it an innovative and boundary-pushing audiovisual show. Following the release of
Isles, Bicep were nominated in two categories at the 2021
BRIT Awards for 'British Group' and 'Breakthrough Artist'. In August 2024, McBriar received brain surgery for a rare
craniopharyngioma tumour on his pituitary gland. ==Live performances==