Recloose

Matthew Chicoine, operating as producer and DJ Recloose and originally based in Detroit, first attracted attention through his output on Carl Craig’s Planet E imprint, which encompassed energetic, sample-driven trip-hop as well as earthy, jazz-tinged house. He has since issued material on additional labels including Peacefrog, Rush Hour, and Aus Music, shifted residence to New Zealand before returning to the United States, and partnered with multiple artists across jazz, soul, and dance.

After completing an English degree at the University of Michigan in nearby Ann Arbor, Matthew Chicoine—formerly known as resident mixer DJ Bubblicious—remained uncertain about his next steps and began experimenting with electronic production. Local Detroit accounts describe how, while employed at a take-out spot, he placed one of his tapes inside an order for techno mainstay Carl Craig, leading Craig to sign him to Planet E. His debut EP, So This Is the Dining Room from 1998, received strong local praise in Detroit. The following year, shortly after finishing the Spelunking EP, Chicoine joined Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra to support its international live engagements. Although his recorded work had largely targeted home listeners, he also DJed and performed at numerous distant locations. In early 2000 he issued the single “Can’t Take It” featuring Dwele in advance of a planned full-length, yet the album faced nearly two further years of delay, during which only the Jigsaw Music mix disc and occasional remixes sustained interest. Cardiology finally appeared on Planet E in 2002, with a European edition via !K7 that incorporated contributions from Colin Stetson, John Arnold, Malik Alston, and others.

By the release of Cardiology, Chicoine had already moved to New Zealand, where he collaborated with members of Fat Freddy’s Drop and Trinity Roots among others. He formed the Recloose Live Band, which played both jazz festivals and dance clubs. Hiatus on the Horizon, placing stronger focus on live instrumentation than earlier Recloose projects, emerged on Peacefrog in 2005. Backwards and Sideways, a concert recording by the Recloose Live Band, followed in 2007. Recloose returned to the studio for Perfect Timing, issued by Sonar Kollektiv in 2008. Shortly afterward Chicoine launched the popular radio program Hit It & Quit It with co-host Frank Booker and established a DJ and Electronic Music Production course at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand.

In 2010 Dutch label Rush Hour released Early Works, gathering tracks from early Recloose EPs plus unreleased material from that period. The warmly received compilation revived interest in his catalog and prompted several new EPs on Rush Hour and Delusions of Grandeur. Chicoine relocated to Brooklyn in 2014 and joined DJ technology company Serato. He signed with Aus Music in 2016, resulting in the Honey Rocks EP and Spirit Knows in 2017.