Eartheater, Lauren Duffus, Sassy 009 and more feature on upcoming Bicep album, SLUG

SLUG will be Bicep's first new full-length release since their 2021 album Isles. Across eighteen tracks, the album is said to tap into the full range of the duo's musical DNA while also pushing into new territory, shifting across rave, breakbeat, vocal-led material and ambient textures. Bicep describe it as an album that can take on different forms, explaining: "We want an album people can listen back to again and again and keep finding new parts within it."

Bicep are sharing previews of the album with three separate three-track single reveals. "Gas", "Ultra", and "Equarium" land as part of the second drop, following previous releases "Air", "Lemonder" and "Viper," which features a collaboration with Clark. Each run of singles arrives with its own three-part short-film, with "Gas / Ultra / Equarium" arriving alongside a visual which focuses on a gang of pigeon fanciers on a heist, exploring themes of connection and freedom against surveillance and confinement.

The core of SLUG is to consider what exists beyond first impressions. The title was inspired by the contrast between the land slug and underwater slugs, with the latter having unique colours, shapes and forms that differ to their land counterparts. "It felt like an amazing metaphor: you think one thing, but actually there's a whole world beyond what you initially perceive," BICEP share.

"For this album we really wanted to massively broaden what we do. It felt like a new start for us," they continue. "We wanted to make a much more varied album than our previous ones and push what people might expect BICEP to sound like. We just wanted an album full of surprises and contrast."

The album emerged from a period of isolation that disrupted the Bicep's usual cycle of touring and new music. They spent less time going out or engaging with new releases, and found themselves in the studio, delving into their own archive. This led to what they describe as a "conversation with our past selves about what we'd been trying to achieve years ago and how we could finally take those ideas somewhere now."

The pair expanded on their ideas by inviting a host of collaborators in addition to Duffus, Eartheater, SOARR, Saskia, Kehina, and Clark, including George Riley, KUČKA, Sassy 009, Rowena Fysx, Julia Kent, and Zosia Jagodzinska.

Bicep will also play two new live shows following the album release: one at Knockdown Center in New York on 20 March 2027, and another at a venue to be announced in London on 31 July 2027. This November, their BICEP LIVE experience is set to return after a three-year hiatus with a sold-out show at London's Royal Albert Hall, alongside two DJ/AV shows in Australia.

SLUG artwork

SLUG? tracklist

"Gas (feat. Lauren Duffus & SOARR)"
"Air (feat. SOARR)"
"777 (feat. Eartheater)"
"Lemonder"
"Ultra (feat. Eartheater & Saskia)"
"Cielo"
"Edmeno" (BICEP & Clark)
"Pole II (feat. Kehina)"
"Equarium (feat. Kehina)"
"Viper (feat. Saskia)" (BICEP & Clark)
"Curb (feat. George Riley & KUČKA)"
"Horses"
"Janus (feat. Sassy 009)"
"Lamb (feat. Rowena Fysx)"
"Honda"
"Xy"
"Rose (feat. Kehina)"
"Tides (feat. SOARR)"