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Being a hot up-and-coming producer means a few things, most notably that there must be pressure and a heavy weight on your heart in the lead up to your debut EP release. After all, you are putting a significant piece of your soul out there on a platter, serving it up for the world – yes, the whole wide world with its billions of occupants and their expectations – to devour. Now, the question is whether the world will take kindly to this piece of your soul, and appreciate it, or if they will eat it up and spit it out – and thus leaving you with a broken heart. That is what I can imagine is the case with Perth producer and RBMA alumni Ta-ku and his highly anticipated EP, “Songs To Break Up To”.
From the first play, it is abundantly clear that heart break will not be the case for Ta-ku with “Songs To Break Up To”. This is an atmospheric, beautifully structured and layered piece of work that paints a picture of drifting clouds and reverie. The intricately placed samples throughout and sparse use of vocals only enhance these notions. From the opening track, “Beginning To End”, Ta-ku sets up an image, and the theme in this picture stays consistent throughout the 10 track EP. While breaking up may be seen by many as a gloomy time, it can also be like Autumn, a time when trees begin to change colour, and turn into an unexpectedly beautiful sight, with golden hues and crisp leaves, eventually leading into a time of beginning anew, fresh, with colour and light. On “Songs To Break Up To”, Ta-ku sonically brings this idea to life.
While sampling is most often associated with a straight up Hip Hop vibe, here it is clear that there are many ways to use clever sampling. Ta-ku effortlessly integrates samples into mellow slow burning tracks, layered with perfectly placed keys and drum patterns, the songs build and ebb and flow, much like relationships and life itself. Stand out tracks include lead single “I Miss You More” with its Janet Jackson and Keith Sweat sample, and the Thandiwe Phoenix assisted “Wasted Time”. Although to pick a stand out on an EP that is full of tracks that make the melancholy sound divine is no easy feat. The closing bonus track, “Descent” featuring Ebrahim only serves to make this an even tougher decision. This EP needs to be played in its entirety and absorbed into the senses like a stick of nag champa burning in the morning.