Aappoq

Belfast-based production duo Bicep and producer Andachan slide into "Aappoq" with the kind of patience that comes from knowing the payoff of building up a mood over time. The track’s opening stretches out across a wide and weighty run; glassy strings spreading out like frost on a frozen sea while soft, waterlogged keys bubble underneath.

Everything is bussed through an eerie reverb that keeps the energy suspended in a kind of glacial stasis. Almost without you noticing, layers of vocal samples start to echo across the stereo field—some ethereal and childlike, others brooding and aged. For over a minute and a half you're left to feel your way through a fog of sound with a widescreen quality to it.

When the drums finally land a third of the way into this instrumental cut, their dense landing punch instantly grounds the track. The groove arrives thick and kinetic where rapid flashing bass tones blend into a low-end hum that never fades or becomes muddled.

There are careful hands here, with the Bicep duo and Andachan building something memorable from gut feelings and wide open sound. "Aappoq" hits just as heavy in a pair of well-worn AirPods as it does marching out of a venue's high-dollar sound system. Press play and enjoy it all for yourself.