Re ÏŸ Twerk, the latest self-released offering from Perth producer Ta-Ku, definitely signals a partial shift in direction for the incredibly prolific artist, one marked by heavier hip-hop and trap influences. It would not be entirely true to say that Ta-Ku makes a complete departure from his more funky and wonky roots, both of which still manage to shine through on this EP, however he has cut into a much more diverse sound, blending flavours into something fantastic. Featuring eight originals and four remixes, Re ÏŸ Twerk excellently covers the bases of contemporary electronic music.
‘Sweat Like Keith’ is a heavy hitting opening track to the EP, acting as both a tone setter and an introduction to this new production style to be expected from Ta-Ku. Starting off on a straight hip hop tone, the track shifts halfway through with synths and vocal samples that seem to lift it up into something much more emotional and soulful.
The Southern rap and trap influences are no clearer than in ‘Hustle’ and ‘Get it Girl’, both of which are straight-up bass heavy bangers. With a strong utilisation of pitch shifted vocal samples and strict use of 808 drums, they follow a growing trend recently in the electronic music community, while maintaining a unique edge in their execution, a testament to Ta-Ku’s skill as a producer.
The last original track on the EP, ‘Buggin Me (Unsure)’ provides an interesting contrast with the old and the new. A rather soft and relaxing beat, marked by an underlying atmospheric sample of rainforest ambience, lies underneath twisted Destiny’s Child vocals, providing both an interesting and thought provoking listen.
Capped of with remixes of Snakadaktal, Hermitude, Kendrik Lamar and B. Lewis respectively, Re ÏŸ Twerk is another stellar edition to Ta-Ku’s ever growing diverse catalogue.
Joshua Millar
