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Get Ready to Go "On and On" with Recloose's New EP on Aus Music

The legendary producer' returned after a three year hiatus and we've got an exclusive listen to his comeback single.

Matthew Chicoine got his big break after slipping a demo cassette into Carl Craig's sandwich in a Detroit deli. Now, that might be complete bollocks, but as they say, when the legend becomes fact, print the legend. So it went that Chicoine swapped 12" subs for 12" records and subwoofers, going onto garner critical acclaim for his work as Recloose. It was 2002's seminal LP Cardiology—released on Craig's Planet E label—that really rocketed Chicoine into clubbing's cultral consciusness.

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A dreamy, jazz-inflected set of deep disco-house rollers, it chugged and churned in the most elegant way imaginable, and he's never looked back since. After that album came 12"s on the likes of Peacefrog, Sonar Kollektiv, and Rush Hour, before a three year hiatus that begun in 2013. Happily for music lovers everywhere, he's decided to break the silence with a brand new EP dropping this week on Will Saul's Aus Music label. Honey Rocks is a gorgeous three tracker that joins the dots between the darkness of a Saturday night and the comforting embrace of a sunny Sunday. Check out our premier of the top-notch B-side "On & On" and a chat with the man himself below.

THUMP: It's been a while since your last release…why the silence? How've you been passing the time? Backgammon? Cross-stitch? Pilates?
Recloose: I've been BUSY! I've been running a full-time DJ and electronic music program in New Zealand for five years, wrote a master's thesis on Detroit music history, and most recently relocated myself and my family to NYC to manage Serato's artist relations and education activities for the east coast. I feel like if I had time for backgammon or para-sailing I'd have really made it in life. Not there yet…

Can you tell us how you hooked up with Will Saul and the rest of the Aus crew?
I'd done a remix for Will many moons ago and recently initiated contact again. No idea why but Will really seems to like the music I make and flattered me enough to send through some demos. Aus has gone from strength to strength as a label so it seems like a perfect fit for a relaunch.

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You're a prolific remixer, and you've worked with some big names, but if you could get your hands on ANY track in musical history and give it a signature Recloose re-rub, what'd it be and why?
I think I'd have a lot of fun with some August Darnell back catalog because it has a lot of elements I've come to embrace at different periods of my own music making (I used to put a lot of horns in my songs for instance). So if I could get a hold of say "Annie", "Stool Pigeon," "Maladie D'Amour," or the "Sunshower" stems I'd be a very happy remixer.

I'm a sceptic…can you convince me that honey actually does rock?
Honey Rocks was a working title. I had used a little sliver of "Sweet Honey in the Rock" but then took it out, and the title stuck. I have since found out Honey Rock is also a melon. So evidently the record is an ode to melons.

What's the rest of the year got in store?
Staying busy with Serato activities and developing some great artist projects, events, and hosting workshops. Recloose-wise I'm very excited to have started a new project with my friend Henry Maldonado (aka Son of Sound/House 2 House). We're finishing up some new material including a cut with my NZ-homie Mara TK of Electric Wire Hustle. Also keep an ear out for our radio show "Hit It & Quit It" on The Lot Radio and EVR.

The Honey Rocks EP is out on Friday 27th May on Aus.

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