If you think Tiki Taane's gone too heavy on his new album, don't worry - the Kiwi dance music pioneer will soon be releasing another album of "unashamedly pop songs".
Taane, who released his new dubstep-infused album In the World of Light at Wellington's Homegrown Festival over the weekend, says he plans to release a completely different album of acoustic jams in November.
In the World of Light is crammed full of bass-heavy tracks aimed for the dancefloor and includes collaborations with dubstep producers Optimus Gryme, Concord Dawn, Crushington, Truth and Bulletproof and singers Bebe, Hollie Smith and Moana and the Tribe.
But the former Salmonella Dub front man told Stuff.co.nz he realised he had two albums worth of material about two months ago, so decided to split them into separate releases.
While the first album feels like a darker, heavier and more fulfilling version of Taane's 2007 solo debut Past, Present, Future, the second album has been inspired by that album's acoustic No. 1 hit Always on My Mind.
He described it as being at "the opposite end of the sprectrum" to In the World of Light.
"Always on my Mind was one of those freak tunes. No one could see that it was gonna do what it was gonna do," he said. "I love the acoustic stuff but I love the dance music as well. I guess I kind of wanted to break it up.
"I'm lucky to be able to have that freedom to be able to cross over into those different genres."
With tunes like the booming Hollie Smith-guested Bloodstone, the epic Optimus Gryme collaboration My Lion and grimy atmospherics of King of the Dubs, In the World of Light will be a different Tiki Taane experience for those that know him from his days fronting Salmonella Dub.
Taane said dubstep was a natural progression from his first solo album.
"Dubstep is just a natural offshoot from what I've been doing for the last 20 years. When I hooked up with Salmonella Dub we were kinda making dubstep but organically, but we never had a name for it.
"It was just called 'dub reggae'."
Taane said he wasn't concerned about alienating fans of his acoustic material by releasing a dubstep album first.
"I hope it surprises people. If it doesn't, sweet as. I haven't really thought about it. I just make music and art, I make stuff that turns me on, and if it turns other people on then choice. If it doesn't that's no problem, don't buy it.
