Regan Mathews, better known by his stage name Ta-ku, is an Australian musician, producer and photographer.

Life and career

Mathews was born and raised in the Australian city of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. He is half- Filipino, half-

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. Mathews attended high school at John Curtin High School. Before he decided to focus on music, Mathews held a sales job at

Medibank Medibank is an Australian private health insurance provider headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. It is Australia's largest private health insurance provider, covering around 4.2 million customers in 2024. Medibank initially ...

for five years. Mathews' stage name "Ta-ku" is a nod to his Māori heritage. In 2008, an invite to the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, taking counsel from the likes of DJ Toomp,

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a me ...

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the Southern rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work wi ...

, Omas Keith and

Dennis Coffey Dennis James Coffey (born November 11, 1940) is an American guitarist. He was a studio musician for many soul and R&B recordings, and is well known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " Scorpio". Biography Coffey learned to play guitar at the a ...

. The trip was a breakthrough moment for Ta-ku as he channeled his experience and new found motivation to liberate a slew of free beat tapes within months of his return. Shortly after flooding the internet with a diverse array of releases, his output was rewarded with subsequent collaborations involving CyHi Da Prynce (G.O.O.D music), John Robinson, Raashan Ahmad (Paper Chain labelmate), Joe Scudda,

Outasight Richard Andrew Conte (born February 17, 1983), better known by his stage name Outasight, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer born and raised in Yonkers, New York. Though he is considered a pop artist, he is influenced ...

, Kid Daytona, Phil Ade, Raaka (

Dilated Peoples Dilated Peoples is an American Los Angeles-based Hip hop music, hip hop trio, composed of rapper and record producer Evidence (musician), Evidence, rapper Rakaa, and Beat Junkies deejay and record producer DJ Babu. The group is better known in t ...

) amongst many others. Ta-ku's album ''Songs to Break Up To'' was released 8 October 2013. It peaked at No. 18 of the

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

Album Chart. Ta-ku has featured on Boiler Room and toured around Australia as part of

Listen Out Listen Out is an annual Australian music festival held in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane since September 2013. In 2018, an inaugural alternative version of Listen Out, titled Listen In took place in South Australia and New Zealand. The ...

festival in 2014. In May 2015, Ta-ku was a Youth Speaker at TEDxSydney. Ta-ku made his U.S. live debut at New York's

MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution at 2201 Jackson Avenue in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City, United States. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...

in October 2015. In 2016, Ta-ku collaborated with singer songwriter

Wafia Wafia Al-Rikabi (born 4 August 1993), known professionally as Wafia, is an Australian singer-songwriter of Iraqi-Syrian origin. Originally studying biomedicine at university, she began to write songs to escape its monotony. Career Al-Rikabi s ...

to create the album '. Mathews was previously a co-owner of Weston's Barbershop in Northbridge and the fashion brand Team Cozy. In 2018, Mathews started a creative agency called Pretty Soon with friend Ben Wright. Pretty Soon has done work for

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

, Puma,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

, G-Star and

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

. From 11 February–6 March 2022, Ta-ku's ''Songs to Experience'' ran as part of the

Perth Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

. The immersive music installation was a reflection of his forthcoming album of the same name. On 9 June 2023, Ta-ku announced on his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

new album ''Songs to Come Home To'', scheduled for 25 August 2023.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, ''Songs to Break Up To'' , Best Independent Dance/Electronic Album , , - ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, ''Songs to Break Up to'' , Best Independent Dance/Electronic Album , , -

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The

West Australian Music Industry Awards The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). History WAM was originally fo ...

are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on annually by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc. (wins only) , - , 2013 , Ta-ku (Regan Mathews) , Electronic Producer of the Year , , - , 2014 , Ta-ku (Regan Mathews) , Electronic Producer of the Year , , - , 2015 , Ta-ku (Regan Mathews) , Electronic Producer of the Year , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ta-ku Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Australian musicians Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Australian hip-hop musicians Australian electronic musicians 21st-century Australian male musicians