Ranking the best songs of Ta-ku means tracing one of Australia’s most emotionally direct producers, from lo-fi beat tapes to full-blown R&B songwriting. Regan Matthews, who records as Ta-ku, built his name on tribute projects and heartbreak concept EPs before evolving into a vocalist and collaborator in his own right. This list pulls from every era of his career, and if you want to dig deeper into the wider scene he came up in, our songs category has plenty more Australian artists worth exploring.
We Were In Love
Opening “Songs To Break Up To” (2013), “We Were In Love” sets the emotional register for the whole EP in under three minutes. The chords drift and sag in a way that mirrors the lyrics, and Ta-ku’s production leans on warped vinyl textures rather than crisp modern mixing, which gives the track a bruised, analog warmth. It is the kind of song that rewards a late-night listen on headphones, where the tape hiss and low-end murk actually become part of the emotional storytelling rather than a flaw to fix.
I Miss You
“I Miss You” became the breakout single from “Songs To Break Up To,” partly because Ta-ku gave it away for free while fans waited for the full project. The track famously samples “Summer Fling” by Willow Smith and MVSIC, chopped and slowed until the original source is barely recognizable, which says a lot about his ear for flipping unexpected material into something melancholic. Where a lot of instrumental hip hop stays cold and clinical, this one aches, and that emotional directness is exactly why it still gets passed around breakup playlists over a decade later.
Moving On
Closing out the emotional arc of “Songs To Break Up To,” “Moving On” shifts the mood from mourning to something closer to acceptance. The drums sit further forward in the mix here than on earlier tracks, giving the song a bit more forward momentum, like the narrator is literally walking somewhere new. It is a smart sequencing choice on Ta-ku’s part, using instrumental arrangement instead of lyrics to signal emotional progress, which is harder to pull off than it sounds.
Higher (Flume Remix)
Originally a beat from Ta-ku’s 2010 “Tribute” release, “Higher” got a second life in 2012 when a then-rising Flume reworked it into something sharper and more electronic. Flume kept the emotional core of the original melody intact while pushing the low end and adding his own glitchy percussion flourishes on top, and the pairing makes sense in hindsight given both producers came out of the same early-2010s Australian beat scene. On a good pair of over-ears the bass redesign really opens up, and if your current setup is struggling with the low frequencies, our headphone comparison guide can help you find something built for bass-heavy productions like this one.
Meet In The Middle (feat. Wafia)
Released in 2016 as part of the “(m)edian” EP, “Meet In The Middle” marked a turning point where Ta-ku started building full songs around a featured vocalist rather than keeping things purely instrumental. Wafia’s voice sits beautifully in the pocket of his production, which blends warm keys with skittering, trap-adjacent drum programming. The chemistry between the two artists on this EP led to years of further collaboration, and this track is arguably where that creative partnership really clicked into place.
American Girl (feat. Wafia)
A loose, gender-flipped reimagining of Estelle’s “American Boy,” Ta-ku’s “American Girl” swaps the original’s bright pop-soul energy for something hazier and more downtempo. Wafia’s vocal performance carries real charisma here, playful but controlled, riding over a beat that leans on muted horns and a laid-back boom-bap pulse. Released as a single in 2015, it is a good entry point for listeners who know Ta-ku only as a producer and want to hear how he reshapes familiar songwriting into his own sonic world.
Day 2
Pulled from “50 Days For Dilla Vol. 1” (2012), “Day 2” is one of twenty-five beats Ta-ku produced in dedication to the late J Dilla, one per day for fifty straight days. The swung hi-hats and slightly off-kilter drum quantization are a direct homage to Dilla’s signature production style, and hearing Ta-ku work within someone else’s sonic language is genuinely instructive about his own technical range. It is a short piece, but the amount of craft packed into two minutes says a lot about his beatmaking discipline.
Day 9
Another highlight from the same tribute project, “Day 9” leans more melodic than some of its siblings on the tracklist, built around a looped, almost music-box-like keyboard figure. Fans on Bandcamp and Last.fm have singled out several of the “Day” tracks as headphone-test material over the years, and this one holds up for the same reason: the mix has real depth without ever feeling cluttered. Listening to the whole 25-track project in sequence is honestly the best way to understand Ta-ku’s range as a beatmaker before he leaned into vocals.
Cruel (feat. Panama)
By 2020, Ta-ku had shifted decisively toward using his own voice, and “Cruel,” his collaboration with Australian group Panama, is a good showcase of that pivot. The production is sparser than his early instrumental work, giving space for the vocal interplay between Ta-ku and Panama’s frontman to carry the emotional weight instead of dense sampling. It arrived as the second single of a loose 2020 run of releases, following “Glitter” and preceding “Notice,” and together the three tracks show an artist rebuilding his sound around songwriting rather than pure production.
Glitter
Ta-ku’s 2020 version of “Glitter” is a stripped-back cover of Benee’s original hit, rebuilt as a piano-driven ballad instead of the twangy, guitar-led pop song it started as. Reworking a song this well known is a risky move, but Ta-ku commits fully, slowing the tempo and leaning into a more vulnerable vocal delivery that turns Benee’s breezy original into something almost mournful. It is a genuinely interesting case study in how much a song’s emotional identity can shift purely through arrangement and tempo.
Notice
“Notice” is arguably the most personal song in Ta-ku’s catalog, written about his relationship with his father and released in October 2020. He has said in interviews that this track features more of his own voice than anything he had released before, and you can hear that vulnerability in the slightly unpolished, close-mic’d vocal takes sitting atop hazy piano chords and trap-inflected drums. The accompanying self-directed video, which depicts a young boy at a family kitchen table, reinforces just how autobiographical this song really is.
Red Alert
Tucked into the eighteen-track “Do What You Love” project from 2013, “Red Alert” shows a punchier, more upbeat side of Ta-ku that gets overshadowed by his more melancholic breakup material. The drums hit harder here, closer to a club-ready boom-bap tempo, and there is a real sense of momentum that separates it from the more contemplative tracks surrounding it on the same release. It is a reminder that Ta-ku’s catalog is broader than the “sad beats” reputation that “Songs To Break Up To” cemented.
Leave (Get Out) [triple j Like A Version, feat. Wafia]
Recorded for triple j’s long-running Like A Version series in 2016 and released as a single the following year, this is Ta-ku and Wafia’s live reinterpretation of JoJo’s “Get Out (Leave).” Stripping a pop hit down to Ta-ku’s production sensibility and Wafia’s vocal control makes for a genuinely compelling cover, one that feels earned rather than novelty. The chemistry that had already been building on “(m)edian” is on full display here, and it is one of the more replayable live recordings in his discography.
CALL MY NAME (feat. JMSN)
From 2023’s “Songs To Come Home To,” “CALL MY NAME” pairs Ta-ku with JMSN, an artist whose falsetto-heavy, retro-soul style meshes naturally with Ta-ku’s warmer, more organic production choices. The arrangement favors live-sounding instrumentation over sampled loops, a clear evolution from his early beat-tape years, and JMSN’s vocal performance gives the track a smoky, late-night quality. It is a strong example of how far Ta-ku’s ear for collaborators has developed since his early instrumental releases.
SMILE (feat. Xavier Omär)
Also pulled from “Songs To Come Home To,” “SMILE” leans into a gentler, more optimistic tone than most of Ta-ku’s catalog, aided by Xavier Omär’s smooth, understated vocal delivery. The production keeps things airy, built around light keys and a relaxed backbeat rather than the denser sample work of his earlier tribute projects. On a quality set of earbuds, the vocal layering in the chorus really comes through, and our earbuds comparison guide is worth a look if you want to hear those details more clearly on the move.
Treading Water (feat. Wafia)
Another standout from the 2016 “(m)edian” EP, “Treading Water” finds Ta-ku and Wafia leaning into a more restrained, R&B-leaning arrangement than their earlier singles together. The production gives Wafia’s vocal plenty of room to breathe, with subtle keys and understated percussion staying out of the way rather than competing for attention. It is one of the quieter tracks on the EP, but that restraint is exactly what makes the emotional delivery land.
Love Somebody (feat. Wafia)
Also from “(m)edian,” “Love Somebody” leans warmer and more hopeful than the project’s other cuts, which is fitting given how much of Ta-ku’s catalog otherwise sits in breakup territory. The song later got a Mr. Carmack remix in 2016, a sign of how well the original’s melodic bones translated to other producers’ interpretations. It remains one of the most replayed tracks from the Ta-ku and Wafia partnership, and it is easy to hear why once the chorus kicks in.
Flight 99 (feat. Masego)
Released in 2019, “Flight 99” pairs Ta-ku with saxophonist and vocalist Masego, a collaboration that leans into loose, jazz-inflected R&B rather than tight beat-driven structure. Masego’s improvisational vocal runs give the track a live-band feel that is fairly rare in Ta-ku’s catalog, and the production wisely gets out of the way to let that chemistry breathe. It is a good showcase of how far Ta-ku had moved from his early sample-based instrumentals by the end of the 2010s.
Down For You (feat. Ta-ku)
Technically credited to Alina Baraz featuring Ta-ku, “Down For You” is worth including because it shows him in a purely collaborative producer-and-guest role rather than as the lead artist. Baraz’s breathy, intimate vocal style pairs naturally with the same warm, textured production instincts that define his solo catalog. It is a useful reminder that some of Ta-ku’s best work over the years has come from lending his sound to other artists’ songs rather than only his own.
Sunrise / Beautiful (feat. Jordan Rakei)
Closing out this list, “Sunrise / Beautiful” pairs Ta-ku with New Zealand-born, London-based singer Jordan Rakei, whose jazz and neo-soul background pushes the production into more harmonically adventurous territory than most of Ta-ku’s back catalog. The two-part structure hinted at in the title gives the song room to shift mood midway through, moving from something reflective into a more uplifting second half. It is a fitting closer for a discography that started in lo-fi tribute beats and has steadily evolved into fully realized, collaborative songwriting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ta-ku’s most popular song?
“I Miss You” from “Songs To Break Up To” is generally considered his signature track and the one most casual listeners recognize first, largely because it was released as a free download ahead of the EP.
Is Ta-ku a singer or a producer?
He started strictly as a producer and beatmaker in the late 2000s, but from around 2020 onward, starting with songs like “Glitter” and “Notice,” he began singing lead vocals on his own releases as well.
What genre is Ta-ku’s music?
His catalog spans instrumental hip hop, alternative R&B, and downtempo electronic music, and his more recent work leans further into soul and R&B songwriting with live-sounding instrumentation.
Who has Ta-ku collaborated with the most?
Wafia is his most frequent and long-running collaborator, spanning singles, the “(m)edian” EP, and a triple j Like A Version performance, though he has also worked with JMSN, Xavier Omär, Masego, Jordan Rakei, and Alina Baraz.
Where is Ta-ku from?
He was born Regan Matthews in Perth, Western Australia, and he founded the independent label Sunday Records, which has released much of his catalog alongside HW&W Recordings.
What are Ta-ku’s tribute projects?
His two best-known tribute projects are “50 Days For Dilla,” a fifty-track dedication to producer J Dilla released across two volumes in 2012, and “25 Nights For Nujabes,” made in honor of the late Japanese producer Nujabes.