Ta-ku is inspired by creativity, which may be why it’s been difficult for him to stay in any one lane for too long.

The Perth, Australia native became a fixture during the early years of the so-called Soundcloud era, during which many artists forewent traditional music-releasing methods to bring their music directly to their fans. Occurring during the early-to-mid 2010s, it also helped a swath of new artists in the production world, like Ta-ku, and the wider Soulection collective whom he collaborated with, ignite a new world of house and electronic-based artists and propel them to higher levels in the music biz (think Kaytranada, XXYYXX, Cashmere Cat, and BADBADNOTGOOD as examples).

But between his last release, 2015’s Songs To Make Up To, and now, there’s been an almost eight-year gap between Ta-Ku's solo releases. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t continued being creative.

While music has always been the primary passion of the multi-hyphenate producer of Filipino and Maori descent, more recently, he’s been focusing his time on visual art, with photography occupying much of the past few years.

In 2018, he founded Pretty Soon creative agency and worked with brands like Nike, Puma, Red Bull, and Apple on various projects. But since his early 2022 immersive music installation Songs to Experience ran at the Perth Festival, it was clear that Ta-ku was ready to release a new album.

That’s what took place over the past week as Ta-ku released Songs To Come Home To, his third solo studio album that, as evident in the project’s title, was a bit of a homecoming for himself. The 20-song LP features some of the producer’s mainstay collaborators, including Matt McWaters, Jay Prince, and Sango.

“Music’s always been my first love. It’s the thing I might not be the best at, I think, but it's the thing that I am most passionate about, and I think this album was kind of like the epitome of that,” he told BET during a recent interview. “That's why there's so many amazing friends and collaborators on it.”

The laidback and transient vibes of Songs To Come Home To are exemplified throughout the album but are supremely executed and succinct on the single “WAY OUT.” Featuring percussion from Questlove, whom he met backstage at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and the gorgeous singing-rapping from Milan Ring, the track is a prime example of how Ta-ku is able to not only gather the background instrumentals for a song but also the right people to help execute the full vision.

“I had this sketch of an idea and asked Quest if he wanted to lay down some drums, and that was the birth of that idea,” Ta-ku said of his backstage conversation with The Roots drummer. “I think that was just awesome. Seeing those things come together and seeing it though, it’s really crazy.”

It’s execution like this that helped bring Ta-ku back to the idea of putting out another body of work. And while it had been years since he officially worked on his own song, that passion was always in his periphery.

“When I was in a different creative field or too busy to even listen to music something would happen. I would listen to something that a friend made or even something that came out and I just was like, Man, I miss making music. I miss expressing myself in that way,” he explains.

“I've just spent this last seven years with my wife, who is now my family, and it just reminded me of the things that I'm grateful for,” he adds. “That was the biggest motivator.”

Ta-ku just wants people to listen to his latest album – whether they like it or not. It’s safe to say, though, that barely anyone will fall into that latter category with this release.

“I just want it to be out so people can actually finally react to it and feel what I've been feeling the last seven years. That's what I'm really excited about,” he says. “I say this confidently that if people don't like it, I'm just happy that they got to hear it because that's the most important thing for me. I don't need everyone to love it. I just want them to hear it.”

Listen to Ta-ku’s album Songs To Come Home To below.