Music Essentials: Ta-ku

Following from Ta-ku‘s wondrous beat selection for our new HYPETRAK Mix series, we got in touch with the Perth-based beat maker to see what he holds in his Music Essentials. Admittedly too shy to play his own music live, Reggie ‘Ta-ku’ Matthew’s sensitivity towards how his music is perceived could correlate with the emotive disposition felt in his Dilla-esque productions. Melding together soul and funk’s golden years with an earnest boom-bap style, Ta-ku’s production is an affable head-jolt without departing too far from what your girlfriend listens to. Recent numbers like ” I Love Beyonce,”  and “Closet Drake Fans” further reinterprets R&B and hip-hop anthems with warm samples and decisive drum patterns, paying homage to the ubiquitous genres with experimentation. Having produced for a plethora of labels — Brownwood Recordings, Melting Pot Music, Jakarta, HW&W — in addition to his very own Sunday Records, Ta-ku shows no sign of slowing down. Cast your eyes over Ta-ku’s Music Essential items above where on-the-go production tools sit alongside stylish necessities, as an Akai LPK25 Midi Keyboard and AIAIAI Young Guru Studio Headphones make an appearance next to a fresh pair of Bronze Nike Mayflys and a switchblade comb.