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Photo: Jess Wharehinga

With an overwhelmingly lustral album that enlists nostalgia, genre-bending, and a star-studded cast of features, Ta-ku reintroduces himself to the world in his debut album SONGS TO COME HOME TO.

Ta-ku’s sonic architecture has taken him far beyond his roots in Perth, landing him opportunities to co-write and produce for a long list of impressive names, including Anderson .Paak, Chet Faker, Childish Gambino, Masego, and many, many more. A visionary artist of Filipino and Maori descent, Ta-ku’s work is immersive, evoking euphoria and landing itself in the crevice of your heart’s most cherished memories. 

The album ironically starts with “THE END,” a sonic lament. While the vulnerability of its lyrics could be applied to any kind of loss, with this project centering on the reminiscence of our childhoods, one can’t help but mourn the innocence of their youth and the warmth of their forgotten homes. A time that’s slipped through our fingers like sand, this project gently holds you as you grieve the path you’ve walked and renegotiate what’s truly important as you continue forth. With the album cover itself paying homage to staples like Tamagotchis and Cup O’ Noodles, there isn’t a single detail not deeply intentional.

With features ranging from Sango to Jay Prince to Wafia, both first-time collaborators and old friends, Ta-ku is beyond a composer, building vast worlds that allow these artists to riff at their most imaginative. Similar to Kaytranada, his ability to bring out the best in his collaborators is what makes his music so enriching. You’re getting to see these artists in a more illuminating light, with full permission to run free. 

20 songs deep, SONGS TO COME HOME TO is an inner and outer journey. Emotionally intricate and hypnotically grand, the truth you return to is this: my inner child lives within, and therefore, I am always home.

In humble reflection, Ta-ku shares, “This project is less about me and more about us. A tribute to all those who make us who we are today. For the listeners, it's a warm welcome and an invitation to reflect on their own journeys, too. Taking a nostalgic glance back at the experiences and choices that have shaped you. A sonic journey that evokes a sense of peace, gratitude and appreciation. A familiar feeling that ‘home’ has always given us. Home is rarely ever a place. It’s in a face, in the infinite galaxies summarized in the eyes where pupils are as endless as the cycle of life. I’ve heard the timbre of legacies carry on in living room laughter. I’ve seen memories laminate on kitchen floors where my mom and I danced to the rhythm of sizzling sustenance and motherland music. My heart constantly reminds me that geography has no hold on what I call home.”

Listen to "Songs To Come Home To" below: