Cardiology’s release on Planet E back in 2002 – and its seductive mix of nu-jazz, techno and subtle electronic stylings – saw a major new talent arrive in the form of Mathew Chicoine, aka Recloose. The former Detroit resident is now based in Wellington NZ, and while he freely acknowledges the influence of Planet E’s kingpin Carl Craig in his early development, Reclooses’ own track record ain’t exactly too shabby either.

The quality of his 12’s – the latest of which ‘Dust’ promo is exceptional – re-mixes (Herbert, MJ Cole, Brooks, Clara Hill, et al), and his role as co-owner in the Omoamusic imprint that was home to Ayro (ie. Jeremy Ellis now doing major damage solo) – all point to Recloose being around for some time to come. With a strong, appropriate supporting line-up in place, the Future Classic boys seemed to have all the right ingredients in place for a great night of music to be heard.

On arrival, one of Sydney’s longest serving rare groove selectors Trevor Parkee was dishing out some sweet sounds as he rolled through a typically lush, downbeat, nu-jazz and latin flavoured set to a crowd that was slowly but steadily increasing.

Soon enough, Rob Somatik took the reins and from the get go, upped the bpms but retained the funk with some lush broken beat mixed in with funk, breaks and a touch of house as the likes of  Jazztronik and Roy Ayers receive an airing, and the dancefloor started to move into action.

A quick trip to the Blue Note back room saw Lippo throwing down some fat early mpc electro-funk style action to a small crowd with this rooms normal set-up augmented by a projector next to the decks being pointed at the main ceiling, displaying some clean, green shots of nature, Wellington style.

Back in the Main Room and under Somatiks influence the dancefloor continues to build. There is also a large white screen at the back of the stage with images cycling through a few of Detroits more well known moments in history, ie. as the Motor City, Marvin era Motown, the sad decline as business leaves and the cities heart is ripped out, which inadvertently lays the foundations that ultimately leads to…well you probably know the rest.

Following Somatik, D’s on the Two arrive to a warm reception and start by taking things down a notch. Lizzie Rendell joins on guest vox seated quietly at the front of the stage, and the live jamming begins. These cats all have serious skills and before too long, things really heat up. Constant jamming, lots of  minimal but tasty progressions, subtle tempo changes during tracks and deep, improvised sonic excursions between band members leave me torn between dancing and watching, open mouthed as this kind of thing – righteous live house based music – is hard to do well, as the likes of Moodymann and Theo Parrish will attest.

Agile and inventive bass-runs by Michael Di Francesco and solid house beats by Mako provide the rhythmic foundation while Mako also provides the odd saxophone solo. While the lads hold things down, the ex DIG/Multi-ball main man Scott Saunders is in good form, delivering some dazzling grooves via sharp chord stabs and light fingered piano runs. With plenty of equipment at his disposal (a Steinway, Rolandjp 8000, and more) Saunders moves easily between acoustic and electric keys and synth work often in the same track, creating a nice dynamic range and offering plenty of space for Lizzie Rendell to sing over the top of. With her warm, powerful voice and relaxed presence, Lizzie suits Ds on the Two sounds perfectly and she has added an extra dimension to their sound. Some people listen closely and other dance, entranced by the seductive sounds on offer.

As the tight sounding D’s on the Two finish their last track, Recloose punches in to replace Mako and he decides to pick the pace up somewhat. Racing out of the blocks with a bang, we are straight into soulful techno and house territory. Skills-wise, Recloose is a first rate dj – drops are easy on the ears and his beat matching is precision in action. This is quite an achievement since Recloose subtly changes the tempo on a regular basis, building momentum as Planet E styled techno moves easily into house, broken beat comes and goes, as does a side order of original funk and latin et al.

About an hour in, Recloose drops a deep, Detroit house bomb – based on Marvins classic ‘Inner City Blues’ – that pretty much melts my heart on the spot, which he then follows up with Quantic. A little later we are treated to a Recloose mini megamix of sorts, with his own tracks, as Dust, Us vs Us and Ain’t Changin’ follow each other in quick succession.

The dancefloor is active throughout his set, with plenty of room for the groovers who want to move, while a large number of people also choose to kick back and just listen to the abundance of quality electronic sounds that are on offer.

A return visit to the Blue Note room at one point towards the end of Reclooses set, finds a healthy sized crowd getting down to some newer electro sounds, and drum n bass providing a nice alternative to what is on offer out in the main room.

Recloose finally finishes his two hour set to a good response from the crowd ,with a storming broken beat meets house style number that is stunning. Put simply, Recloose reached deep into his collection and pulled out an excellent set of future funk.

Simon Caldwell takes over , silky smooth as per usual, and the D flavoured theme of the night continues to a small but loyal following on the floor, as I eventually make my way to the door, tired but happy about what I have heard musically.

With plenty of friendly, up for it party people in attendance, I was a little surprised that the Basement show wasn’t packed to the rafters, given the talent on offer. Respect is due to the Future Classic boys for not nickel and diming on production, as to these ears, the sound was first rate in the main room and perfectly fine in the Blue Note bar as well.

This is the second show from Future Class in a row that I’ve checked and been impressed with. Quantic Soul Orchestra Live was one of the highlights of 2004, and my thoughts are already turning to their next jam – featuring JCR tastemakers Kyoto Jazz Massive on the Queens Birthday weekend- that is not too far off and sounds very promising as well.

In the meantime, fingers and other body parts remain crossed, in the hope that Recloose makes an eventual turn journey to support the new album that is due out later this year, live style.