“Getting paid for djing is like getting paid for breathing”
2012 update! -July 4th – celebrate Expat Freedom w/ RECLOOSE at Housepitaity:
link to FACEBOOK INVITE
(by Miguel)
Matt Chicoine aka Dj Recloose landed in SFO Tuesday morning and we got to catch up after many years. We discussed new music, life choices, old and new friends, kiwi accents (yei bruh), technology, art, politics, drank a Barsol pisco sour and even had a chance to play mess around with the turntables.
I’ve known Recloose since 94 when we were college students at University of Michigan and he still went by Dj Bubblicious. He had made a household name for himself in the Ann Arbor/Detroit music community as the resident of his legendary Tuesday weekly that packed the Bird of Paradise club while playing everything from disco to funk to acid jazz. He drew crowds all the way from Detroit, a 45 minute drive at night. Matt also had a notoriety for his weekly college radio show on WCBN. In all, Matt has always been a reliable source for fresh new cuts, dynamic music programming and agility on turntables, mixers and any electronic music recording gear he could get his hands on.
With all this behind him, it is no wonder that when he was discovered by Carl Craig during the famous ‘demo on rye’ incident while Matt was working at an Eastern Market Detroit deli, Carl had already known about “dj Bubblicious” from around the way. A little bit of luck there but it was no surprise to anyone at the time that Craig saw raw talent in Chicoine and all those years of hard work by then definitely deserved him the break he needed.
Matt has been living in New Zealand for the past 11 years. He is the host and resident of the infamous Hit It And Quit It show with co conspirator, Frank Booker while also releasing new music on labels like Rush Hour, producing podcasts for Resident Advisor, Ghostly and Bodytonic, going on annual tours and also throwing shows every once in a while. He has been a Red Bull academy lecturer and these days a music teacher at a poly-tech school. Matt is no ordinary dj, he has made music his life by sticking to his guns and staying true to his signature sound. Although he will generally drop a house set on tour, Matt can’t be easily defined into one genre. He will play you everything if you give him full reign to do so. His albums are diverse giving a little something to everyone. I was reminded of this after talking to Peter Blick of The Public Works this last weekend in which he told me that “Deeper Waters” off the album Perfect Timing (2008) was his wedding song per his wife’s request. They both love Recloose.
Personally speaking this show is very special. Matt Chicoine gave me my first club gig and gave me my first residency and handed me his weekly after moving to Detroit to become a struggling dj musician before being discovered by Craig. Matt has all around been a great friend and one funny cat to kick it with. It is such a pleasure to be able to bring him back stateside to play alongside him, something that hasn’t happened since 98 not to mention Matt hasn’t played in SF since 2004. This show in many ways brings things full circle. The Housepitality crew is very excited for this evening.
I had a chance to ask Matt a few questions:
What is the progression of your music career? Include the first piece of vinyl you ever bought.
That’s like a fifteen page paper right there. In brief I started with piano lesions, then jazz band, record collecting, radio djing, producing and last but not least is teaching the art of electronic music in Auckland, New Zealand.
First piece of vinyl I bought?? I don’t remember so I’m gonna make some shit up. It was defo the Beverly Hills Cop Soundtrack.
How has your djing changed in the past 5 years with the advances in technology.
With DJing now you can remain a little more anonymous going through customs (less profiling!!), don’t have to spill beer on your vinyl, have more music control and can still make it sound good if you’re ripping lots of your records.
Now that everything is pretty much open source and digital. How do you collect tracks these days?
I get lots of digi-promos, most of which I don’t have time to listen to but do snag some nice things from. I usually buy new records every few weeks and always bring an empty crate when touring to fill up. I also have a good cross-section of websites I buy music from and almost never jack free music as it tends to sound like shit.
So what’s the hit it and quit it show all about? (“actually I know, but I want to hear it from you”)
Hit It & Quit It is our Monday right radio show. Its an attempt to play music that we like and to have as much fun as we can in the process. We like doing specials, host guests (Jazzy Jay is coming by on June 6), interviews and features (Dennis Coffey, Anthony Shakir, Oliverwho Factory…) and talking a lot of culture-clash shit (Recloose= Yank; Frank Booker= Kiwi).
Our new radio comp ‘Radio Revue Vol. I’ drops in July with a double Serato vinyl Pressing, all new music from our crew and Chico Mann, Oliverwho, Starblazers, Dj Day, James Pants, + lots of other HIQI fam…
What is next for Recloose?
I’ve got a new EP dropping on Rush Hour next month- brand new one-man in the studio styles. And of course lots of gigs the next few weeks in Detroit, New York, Botson, Chicago and LA on the way back… Very exciting shit!
Shouts?
My worldwide family…
Once again, the details our dear midweek professionals.. Your DEMF, Movement Festival Warm UP:
Wednesday May 25th
((HOUSEPITALITY))
Presents New Zealand’s most famous Detroit transplant & worldwide dj/producer sensation:
…
::RECLOOSE:: (Rush Hour, Planet-E)
Resident DJ’s: MIGUEL SOLARI (Hijak, Housepitality) & MICHAEL TELLO (Visionquest, Housepitality)
Back Room: Funk, Soul, Hip Hop, Disco, Breaks, Classics & Rare Groove
::MAGNIFICENT 7::
Housepitality, Hijak Sessions V.3, hosted by the Magnificent 7, proudly brings you this exceptional world-class talent all the way from New Zealand, Matt Chicoine aka Recloose:
Fourteen years after his now infamous ‘Demo on Rye’ exchange with Carl Craig in a downtown Detroit sandwich shop, Recloose has developed into a true standout of the city’s musical litter. His inventive and restless output is distinctive and diverse, melding together moody techno, soulful house, synth-heavy jazz, funk and heavy downtempo with the great of ease, and as only he knows how.
With tremendous fanfare, 2011 will see the much anticipated release of the first original Recloose music to emerge in three years – the ‘Saturday Night Manifesto’ EP for Rush Hour. The seminal Amsterdam based label last year outed ‘Early Works’, a spine tingling retrospective collection celebrating his best work from the late 90’s and early 00’s.
Additionally, Recloose has to date released a number of groundbreaking 12’s for Planet E and Rush Hour, a host of remixes, and four full-length albums for noteworthy labels !K7, Peacefrog, Octave Lab and Sonar Kollektiv. He has been responsible for several hit singles which remain somewhat hallowed amongst educated heads – namely ‘Cardiology’, (incidentally with a five-star remix from Isolee), ‘Dust’ featuring Joe Dukie, and ‘Can’t Take It’ featuring R’n’B sensation Dwele, later stunningly re-worked by Carl Craig.
A much in-demand DJ, Recloose spent years traversing clubs and festivals around the world, as well as performing as a turntablist for both Carl Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra and the more esoteric Uri Caine ensemble. He has spent much of his last few years recording and playing with his funk-oriented Recloose Live Band, rendering his more house oriented DJ sets a rare treat. Fans can catch him via his ‘Hit It and Quit It’ radio show aired every Monday from Auckland’s George FM (www.hititandquititradio.blogspot.com) – the broadcasts and accompanying blog are sure-fire crate-digging fodder for any self-respecting house head.
This year Recloose surfaces from his base in Auckland, New Zealand, to once again trail blaze the dancefloors of the US and Europe, with his recent RA Podcast giving listeners a taste of what they can expect from each of his resounding performances. Evidently despite the name, and luckily for followers the world over, Recloose finds it impossible to stray far from the vanguard of electronic music for too long.
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Miguel Solari and Michael Tello, your hosts, will be warming up the evening with all the special sensual house beats that keep you coming back week after week. We are incredibly honored that Recloose will spend the evening with us as his first stop before heading back to his hometown, Detroit Michigan and then continuing on his U.S. tour.
This is bound to be another unforgettable experience as we come back at you with more world class talent on a Wednesday night.
For you beautiful ladies, get Naughty Feathers by: Stacy P “Get Feathered”
(Buy any feather extension or earrings and get a free glass of Champagne)
Located at Icon Ultra Lounge
1192 Folsom St. at 8th St., SF
9pm-2am, 21+,
**$5 before 11 with RSVP, $10 otherwise**
RSVP @ https://housepitalitysf.com/rsvp/
Much Love,
Michael Tello + Miguel Solari
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