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Tiki Past, Present, Future

Tiki Taane — the one-time Salmonella Dub soundman who delivered fame to the band as vocalist — steps out on his own with a debut solo album that crosses many genres.

Past, Present, Future came about in spite of much loneliness and self-doubt, according to Tiki. But the Christchurch-raised musician has a great ear for a journey, and the album reflects that, starting with “Whakapuaki”, a spiritual awakening with words performed by his father Uekaha Taanetinorau. Then he rips straight into the toughest of his fusion songs — “Tangaroa”, which mixes haka, chanting and traditional rhythms with dancehall rhythms. A powerful, crashing embodiment of the God of the Sea, Tiki came up with this after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

It’s three tracks in before we wrap our ears around some more contemporary-sounding songs. “Now This Is It” is a synth-driven hip hop song where Tiki really announces his arrival and confirms his readiness as a solo artist: “This is it, my turn to bring the new shit”. Next, “Our Favourite Target” sees Julia Deans of Fur Patrol taking the lead vocals. It’s electronica as cabaret, with a dash of Propellerheads-era Shirley Bassey about it. It’s also a fantastic pop single, occupying the same emotional territory as the Straw People hit “Trick With A Knife”. Deans also contributes lyrics to the self-doubting “It’s All in Your Head” and her brother Sean came up with the rhythm on “Now This Is It”.

There’s a good level of grit to this album, it’s just dangerous enough to pose a mild threat — but with a generous amount of melody, it has wide open, welcoming arms at the same time. And the genres it crosses are deliciously summery — “Faded” is a head-nodding reggae dub and “Wotcha Got” is built on a long-rising crescendo of rap, pop melody and rock guitar (courtesy of Concord Dawn’s Evan Short). “Music Has Saved Me” addresses kids and youth violence, with Tiki’s vivid memories of growing up in a poor neighbourhood.

He namechecks “For The Love Of It” — Salmonella Dub’s big hit of 1999 — several times throughout the album, but you get the feeling that’s out of respect for the song and the personal journey it’s taken him on.

There’s a fireside hit here — “Always On My Mind”, which far from being a Willie Nelson song is a Tiki original that sounds like a 1970s reggae classic, although he decribes it as “me banging away on a crappy old acoustic guitar then singing on top”. It gets a revisitation too, on “Always On My Dub Mind”, which has a string quartet nicely juxtaposed against a looping drums part.

The closer, “Tainui Waka” pays tribute to the canoe that carried Tiki’s ancestors to Aotearoa. It’s a respectful, poignant bookend to an album that’s full of self-aware, soul-searching lyrics. But it’s also eight and a half minutes of squelchy dub, best listened to outside, in the environment it reflects — one of sea winds and hot sun.

It’s obviously a deeply personal journey that Tiki has been through in composing and recording Past, Present, Future. As an album, it benefits from that journey. And while it ’s a great achievement — I hope it sells by the truckload — I get the feeling he’s only topped the crest of his first hill.

Upcoming Shows
23 Nov 4.20, K Rd, Auckland
24 Nov San Francisco BathHouse, Welly
30 Nov Phat Club, Nelson
1st Dec The Civic, Chch, followed by Official After Party with special guest DJs & MCs

Video: “Now This Is It”