Ta-ku 'Songs To Break Up To' Review: First Listen Thoughts

One of the most respected beatmakers out there, Ta-ku drops his eagerly awaited (*cough* understatement *cough*) project 'Songs To Break Up To' on The New Beatmaker fave huhwhatandwhere.

As to be expected given the title, 'STBUT' is a sombre, delicate and atmospheric outing. As you would hope of an artist of Ta-ku's caliber, this concept album is very cohesive and well thought out.

Some parts sound like a drunken Art of Noise burning photographs of a now ex-love (especially openers 'Beginning to End' and 'Heartbreak (Sinking)'; 'I Miss You' makes great use of skittish drums and taught strings, all held together by a simple, haunting piano. 'I Miss You More' carries on the haunting piano and vocal samples and is a clever response to 'I Miss You', as well as being a beautiful track in it's own right.

'Healing (Hope You're Well)' makes use of a crackling noise which, repeated through the album, sounds equal parts like old vinyl or the embers of a log fire which still burns (metaphor, anyone?) whilst 'Moving On' is a bit more 'upbeat', but still poignant, with some nice hand claps and plenty of bittersweet strings to get lost in.

Beautifully executed, skillfully orchestrated and highly addictive, 'Songs To Break Up To' is a project to fall in love with.

huhwhatwhere.bandcamp.com/album/songs-to-break-up-to#

About The New Beatmaker

Hi! I'm Lee. Welcome to my blog. Here we talk music: news, reviews, interviews, tips, tutorials and more. I'm also working on the upcoming podcast Influenced as a guest, writer and researcher alongside music aficionado Mark Williams and friends. Watch this space!

I have been a lover of music for as long as I can remember, an amateur lyricist for 25 years, a music writer for 15 years and a hobbyist musician and blogger for almost 10 years.

My tastes range from jazz to house to hip hop and I love helping artists from all genres develop their sound.

My music, videos, reviews and interviews have been featured in a variety of magazines and websites, including:

B-Boy Tech Report
Gimme That Beat
Humanhuman
Audio Skills
Dream House Beats
Where Did the Road Go
Beat Tape Co-Op
Push Power Promo
Drum Magazine

You can find my music on Bandcamp:
Monkey Mind Sounds AKA LeeTNB

And you can find me on Facebook:
The New Beatmaker page
Lee's personal page

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The following is a paid for review and post, via humanhuman (see below).

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