Hailing from Perth, Australia, Reggie Matthews (who also goes by the moniker Ta-ku) has been dealing in chocolatey electronic beats for the past four years. Listen to any of his numerous free beat tapes, and you’ll be soothed by buttery synths, bombarded with ragged raw drummery. A graduate of the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy’s 2008 class, Matthews’ infectious ‘Hey Kids’ – a glorious coalescence of Neptunes-esque synth play and rambunctious drums – was picked to kick off Brownswood Recordings’ ‘Brownswood Electr*c 2′ compilation, out later this month. Brainer caught up with the 24 year-old to talk music, the effervescent Australian beats scene, and the first volume of Brainer’s shiny new mix series.

How did you come to start making music 4 years ago? Can you remember the exact moment you decided to?
When I heard Slum Village’s ‘Fall In Love’.

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?
Good Music.

Who are your influences?
Dilla. Wajeed. Mndsgn. Devonwho. BMB.

What inspires you?
God. Family. Relationships. Friends. Travel. Women. NBA League Pass Broadband. Pandas.

What’s your production set up?
It’s a really simple set up. PC. Midi Keyboard. Micro korg. FLStudio. Vinyl.

Other than the large, deep drums, there’s a strong element of soul in your music (regardless of tempo). Is soul important to you?
Definitely. I fall in love with any piece of music with soul. Emotion-driven music.

What do you try to achieve with your music?
I really just want people to hear it. Whether they like it or hate it is up to them. I will feel very accomplished if my music reaches every corner of the earth.

How did you come to be involved with the new Brownswood Electr*c compilation?
I have been sending bits and pieces via email to the Brownswood crew for a minute and was lucky enough to land a spot!

What does it mean to you – not only are you on the compilation championing the next generation of electronic music’s pioneers, you have the prestigious opening slot with ‘Hey Kids’!
I feel greatly honoured and privileged! Gilles and the guys at Brownswood are the pinnacle of progressive music today, and to be a part of their vision excites me greatly!

We don’t really get exposed to the Australian beats scene over here, how is it? What’s it like being part of it?
The AUS beat scene is still quite young – however there is a nice collective of Aussies really pushing the boundaries at a world standard. Friends like Galapagoose, Panorama, Kilter and Slamagotchi have really great music to check out. On that note – there are so many talented musicians here in Australia so its always a constant inspiration down under!

Tell us about the mix you’ve kindly done for us – is there a theme to it?
The mix I made is really a bunch of tracks I’ve really been feeling lately. From some of my favourite artist like Dimlite, Chief and Samiyam to some new artists like DukeHugh, Mike Gao and Sam A La Bamalot.

What music are you particularly feeling at the moment?
Thundercat’s cover of the George Duke jam ‘For Love I Come’!!!! This track makes me laugh, cry and sleepy all at once! Messed up man! It’s an amazing track.

What’s your favourite album of all time?
Wow. Um… Dilla’s ‘Donuts’.

What craziness can we expect from you in the future?
After a string of free releases on my Bandcamp, I’m really happy that I have a few proper releases on their way: the ‘KT’ EP out on DarkerThenWax in July; the ‘Faces’ 12″ on ProjectMoonCircle in September; and the ‘Bounce’ 12″ with KitPop on PaperChainRecords in December.

Words: Ian Hsieh
Photography: Gauth Jayaram

Ta-ku kindly put together the first volume in the Brainer mix series, click to download. His track ‘Hey Kids’ features on Brownswood Electr*c 2, out June 27th on Brownswood Recordings.
takuakaflip.bandcamp.com // soundcloud.com/takugotbeats