Back in 2012, Australian producer Ta-ku made a splash when he released a Dilla tribute project on HW&W called 50 Days for Dilla. Since that time, he’s been busy not only making music, but pursuing other projects like photography, a barber shop, and running an imprint label called 823. Now he comes somewhat full circle, paying tribute to the other major producer born on February 7th, Nujabes, with a project called 25 Nights for Nujabes.

Nujabes doesn’t get the same dues that Dilla does in the U.S., but when you meet someone who is familiar with the legacy of the Japanese producer, and they will go on at length about the brilliant music of the man who left us too soon when he died in a car crash back in 2010. Nujabes was a soulful artist who gave us some of the most beautiful jazz-influenced downtempo beats of the 2000s, and on 25 Nights, Ta-ku gives himself the task of creating beats in the same style as Nujabes, demonstrating how his influence has lived on across the globe, and how it’s affected Ta-ku personally. It’s no easy task, but fortunately, we saw years ago that Ta-ku is one of the few producers up to the task. Plenty of people have paid tribute to Dilla, but when Ta-ku did it, he was able to strike just the right balance between paying homage to the artist who influenced him and establishing his own voice as an artist. So on 25 Nights, we get a similar take – we know Nujabes and Ta-ku at this point, but on this particular project, it’s about Ta-ku steering the ship closer to Nujabes’ style, just enough to show where the influence came from without just aping his style. The end result is an album that can be enjoyed on a couple of different levels. For those intense fans, you can listen really closely and compare and contrast and enjoy getting lost in the musical details contained within. On another level, you can just kick back and enjoy some absolutely gorgeous downtempo instrumental hip hop. One lesson that Ta-ku absolutely absorbed from Nujabes is the attention to detail when it comes to melodic development and song structure. Ta-ku makes music you can chill out to, but it’s also well-thought out and soulful, so much so that it will really stick with you after the album is over.

Nujabes was one of the truly special artists of the 2000s, and Ta-ku is certainly making the case to be one of the standout artists of the 2010s. In paying tribute to Nujabes, Ta-ku carefully walks the line between giving props to a legend and making a compelling album that stands up on its own. That’s no easy feat.