It’s Halloween, and Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion is packed for the return of electronic heavyweights BICEP. Smoke hangs thick over the crowd, bodies move through the haze, and there’s a palpable sense of anticipation as the night gathers momentum.
DAWS and DJ PGZ get things moving with their opening sets, warming up a crowd that’s clearly ready for a big night. By the time BICEP take the stage, excitement is running high.
All around me, conversations turn to previous encounters with the duo. Some have seen them multiple times, and tonight they’re back for another hit. There’s a devotion here that speaks volumes about BICEP’s standing in electronic music.
The Northern Irish duo, Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson, have spent years building a reputation for pushing dance music beyond the confines of the club, drawing on house, techno, breakbeat and everything in between. Their ability to balance underground influences with enormous emotional pull has taken them from intimate dancefloors to some of the world’s biggest festival stages.
Tonight, the Hordern becomes one enormous dancefloor. Smoke rolls across the room, the bass reverberates through the building, and the crowd moves together as BICEP work through their expansive electronic sound.
For a crowd that keeps coming back, it’s easy to understand the attraction. BICEP know exactly how to command a room, and tonight Sydney is more than happy to surrender to the beat.
Images Deb Pelser
