WWF 2009: Matthew Chicoine aka Recloose

What types of challenges did you have to face in your music when you moved from Detroit to New Zealand?

Getting into the scene there and getting people to know who I am and what I do. The sound in New Zealand is so different compared to Detroit, the environment as well, so these were all challenges for me when I first moved. Getting people to do collaborations involves encouraging them to know and understand where I was coming from, and then inviting them to bring their own style to that. Which is a cool thing usually – when people are put into a creative situation that is unfamiliar, it often prompts some really interesting stuff. When you are used to a certain style, it can become a bit predictable and boring. When you’re unfamiliar you can make some really crazy s**t.

What prompted you to form the Recloose Live Band?

It started as a way to push the Hiatus on the Horizon album, but it was so much fun that we kept on doing it. Reinventing it with new people we bring in. It was really great for me because I have a bit of a background in live music. Playing saxophone, keys, or anything live is great for me as a musician, to develop my skills as a band leader. And for all the people involved in the band, it was great, coming together from all kinds of musical traditions to play this sort of boogie-centric music, which was quite new for them.

How involved are you in creating the lyrics? Do you collaborate on them or leave it up to the vocalist?

I don’t usually tell people what to do. When you are a producer, often you know what you are looking for and you get the vocalist or lyricist to bring something of their own to that. When we were writing ‘Dust’, I was trying to quit smoking, so I told Dallas (Tamaira, aka Joe Dukie): ‘Why don’t you write from the viewpoint of a vice. Pretend that you are a cigarette, or heroin, fast food…something that people love but it’s bad for them.’ And then he wrote ‘Dust’ as if he were role-playing, if you will, as a vice.

As your sound evolves, do you find yourself trying to explore new areas of sound and contexts for music? If so, what have you been exploring while writing Perfect Timing?

The album picks up from where Hiatus… was situated, but it has got a little bit more of an electronic funk sound. I tried to put in some more reference points from the glory days of boogie music. Like when disco went electronic. That’s what I have been exploring lately – the kind of music that is really able to get people to loosen up, dance, and not take themselves too seriously…soulful, funky, electronic music.

‘Being able to create and make music, being in love with it and staying in love with it. The same answer applies to the worst thing, because sometimes you are not in the mood but you have to fulfill a deadline, and that is the worst feeling – when your passion feels like your work.’

Speaking of the glory days of boogie music, did anything in particular inspire you?

There is this show in Detroit called The New Dance Show, and it evolved from an earlier show called The Scene. Looking back now, there is nothing that compares to it, because it was so innocent and pure. The guys on the show would play straight up electronic, funk driven stuff, and people danced. This was on Detroit inner-city public access television. It was so great to see people really getting down, and relate to the music in an intimate way on the dance floor. I miss that, seeing people getting into the music and really shakin’ it.

Your previous records have roots in techno, described as broken beat, nu jazz. How would you describe your music now?

I prefer to make music along the lines of vibe. Different styles will go really well together if you connect the feeling. So I’m more into that, which is also my approach when it comes to deejaying. Hagi, my promoter in Japan, who I have been working with for ten years, said, [imitates Japanese accent] ‘Hey Matthew, you do a kind of B-boy techno,’ which I thought was awesome. I have been using that a bit lately! It’s cheesy but kind of cool, describing a hip-hop aesthetic – cutting and dropping, that kind of style, but then also you have the techno – the uptempo, electronic side of things. That’s always what I’ve been into.

What are your plans for the future?

Focusing on two different aspects of my career. As Recloose, do more electronic music, go back to my roots with my sampler, my record collection and my synths. The other aspect would be the band, The Starblazers. We are finishing up some recordings now and putting out an EP later in the year. There will also be a Recloose Classics released on Rush Hour this year, which will be re-releases of some of my songs from Cardiology. It will also include some unreleased stuff and remixes of earlier songs.

What is the best part about being a musician? And the worst?

Being able to create and make music, being in love with it and staying in love with it. The same answer applies to the worst thing, because sometimes you are not in the mood but you have to fulfill a deadline, and that is the worst feeling – when your passion feels like your work. Being a musician is like being any other artist; staying inspired, challenging yourself, learning from your processes and creating something out of that.

What words of advice do you have for fellow musicians out there?

Find your own voice.

Recloose (MySpace) played at the opening for WWF 2009 at the National Museum of Singapore.

Check out Time Out Singapore's Worldwide Festival 2009 preview and DJ interviews.