Recloose – Spelunking

The credits on Discogs says this is 33rpm but Side B sounds even better at 45.

Probably haven't put this one on for a decade or more... woah, this still sounds amazing. Production is full without being side chained to within an inch of its life as is the case nowadays. There is enough wobbly funk and deep jazz for any head, all tied together with ample Detroit soul.

and most impressive - 22 years later, this still sounds like the future to me

This is one of my favorite records. The song "Get There Tonight" is brimming with soul. Damn that song is deep. This record is a testament of the Planet-E ethos, which is originality. I'm not sure how many people were producing a cross between Detroit style techno, boogie, lounge, and jazz in 1999; to my recollection not many. This song is as fresh today as it was back then. You don't get much better than this.

Recloose's SPELUNKING EP certainly dives down deep, and you can hear it from "Soul Clap 2000" which alternates between a thumping beat and a lighter melody, as snippets of jazz and soul filter in. "Get There Tonight" puts the jazz up front before switching into some tribal drums and shimmery eleectro. The swirling horns on "Landscaping" are almost enough to cause vertigo, before the drums and double bass clatter in to straight things out. "Insomnia in Dub" goes slower, for a smokier, moodier nighttime track, and "Four Ways of Saying Good Bye" shakes the funk loose. It's tracks like this that make you never want to surface.

This is one of the greatest future jazz records I have heard come out of detroit.

'Landscaping' is a dance floor classic, with soaring synth tones, well sampled saxaphone melody, and a stunning bass strum that will get everyone moving. It starts off swing time with a Heavy jungle break and squelchy bassline at the end.
'Get there tonight' is a heavy dropping bass shaker of a track, with a futuristic synth delay and off kilter bass melody, again good on the dancefloor.
'Soul Clap 2000' is a more progressive tune, whereas " Insomnia in Dub' is a slowtime, moody track with dubby sounds and beautiful synthesis yet again.

All these tracks are pretty different from each other, and each one is a must have on it's own. What makes it so great is the futuristic sound of detroit combined with funk jazz and soul styles and samples. This nod back to the roots is similar to the sounds of Theo Parrish and Moodymann, but Recloose stands proud here with killer synthesis to boot.

This release ushers me to think that along with Theo and Moodymann, detroit and techno itself still retain any true sense of soul.

This is best Recloose release i've heard to date, and well worth any money you might need to pay for it. "Get There Tonight" is a percussive tune which starts off with a jazz loop, progressing to a space age high melody, then an off kilter bassline which mesmorises me. The other songs on this album are all of various experimental quality, covering a range of forms from jazz to more Squarepusher style beats, but "Get there tonight" is for me a space age Detroit classic and retains all of the stylistic properties of Detroit techno combined with lush breakbeats. A must.

Wow, I can't believe I haven't commented on one of the best 12"s i own. This was my introduction to Recloose, and what an introduction it was. "Soul Clap 2000" sports one of the wildest twisted basslines wrapped around a bouncy beat punctuated with the soul claps. "Get There Tonight" starts off with a jazz loop, then comes through with the best drum programming on vinyl to date. Crisp punchy jazz breaks rock the crowd before dropping in the bass and melancholy chords. The flipside brings us a couple downtempo cuts, however these are not your ordinairy downtempo cuts. These are deep, dirty, and funky jams as accomplished as anything by DJ Shadow or the like. Moody breaks and dub hits end off one of the best EPs around. Get this is you don't already have it.

'Get There Tonight' - awesome analogue-delay nu-funk, or something, I haven't a clue what to call it.

Also, classic basic synth line on 'Soul Clap 2000' - this EP's definitely worth checking ofr those who like original sounds on the dancefloor - though it is a few years old now! Still fresh.