When former Salmonella Dub frontman Tiki Taane split from the New Zealand-based collective back in 2007 to pursue a solo career, it might have initially been seen by some as a risky proposition. In retrospect however, it’s proved to be an extremely astute move for Taane, with this debut solo artist album ‘Past, Present, Future’ reaching Platinum status in New Zealand, with first single ‘Always On My Mind’ spending more than three months in the top ten and recently becoming certified as the most successful NZ single to date. It’s certainly a testament to the strength of the thirteen tracks here, which see Taane adeptly blending elements of his traditional Maori heritage with a contemporary production approach that takes in elements of hiphop, dub, drum and bass and RNB / pop. If ‘Tangaroa’ suggests the massed gathering of Maori warriors at dawn, complete with massed multitracked vocals and thundering drum rhythms, the slide into smooth, synth-laden hiphop alongside Fur Patrol vocalist Julia Deans on ‘This Is It’s carries with it vagues traces of UK-born grime, something that’s beautifully brought out in full on the vaguely junglist ‘Our Favourite Target’, which sees Dean’s laidback soul vocal beautifully contrasting against the distorted sub-bass pulses and spidery rhythms that power beneath.
Indeed, the numerous collaborations amongst the tracklisting here see Taane reaching for the skills of close, NZ-based brethren, – the seemingly effortless trading of verses between Taane and Shapeshifter’s P-Diggs on the lovers’ rock-centred ‘Faded’ sounding so natural, you almost wonder why it took this long to actually happen. By contrast however, the aforementioned ‘Always On My Mind’ represents what’s easily the most stripped-back offering here, with Taane simply delivering his raw-sounding soul-pop vocals over a lone acoustic guitar backing. While it’s something of an atypical moment here amongst the hiphop / digi-dub styles that predominate this album, it’s certainly proved an enticing opening gambit for a rapidly growing fanbase. An extremely impressive debut solo album that provides compelling evidence of Taane’s multi-faceted skills as a vocalist, songwriter, producer and arranger.
