[Rush Hour Recordings]

It seems having Rush Hour reissue some of his earliest tracks in 2010 was the shot in the arm Recloose needed to return to releasing original material. The New Zealand-based producer born Matthew Chicoine had been largely silent on that front since 2008’s Perfect Timing album for Sonar Kollektiv, with only the occasional remix in the interim. 2011’s Saturday Night Manifesto E.P. found Recloose making some of the wildest music of his career with the chugging “Tecumseh” and affirming his signature sample game was as verdant as ever in “Parquet” and “Electric Sunshine.” He maintains this rampant energy on his latest single, Magic.

Like “Tecumseh,” the title track sets its sights on peak time, hurtling forth at a brisk tempo as it lets loose an avalanche of optimistic melodies. Recloose’s command over his samples is plainly inspiring: the guitar chords wrapped around B. Slade’s gushing R&B lyrics are like a luminous halo that transforms into a series of steps from which his voice leaps during chord progressions. The same goes for the vocals themselves, which are gently overlapped, broken into gooey syllables, and launched skywards at just the right moments. It’s almost as if Recloose is channeling a bit of Todd Edwards, which is also noticeable in the straightened garage rhythms. There’s also an instrumental version for the vocally disinclined, as well as frankly negligible Carl Craig edit of the original. The single includes a second and equally masterful tune, “UHF,” which originally appeared on a “Hit It & Quit It” compilation. Sunshine pours forth from its slate of stretched tropicalia samples, abetted by a bouquet of rambunctious synth arpeggios, dulcet marimba hits, and subtle yet grin-inducing bass runs. Magic is a record that’s ready to usher in summer wherever it’s played — one which testifies to Recloose’s enduring position at the front of the pack.