Fans who knew Taane best for the guitar ballad Always On My Mind can expect a different approach here, but despite Taane's predictions on its popularity, the record has gone straight to No 1 on the New Zealand charts.
"I thought it would just go out there and do its thing for the fans who are into that sort of thing, as it was very dubstep, very drum and bass, and very bass heavy.
"The only bad comment I had from someone was that the sound was 'distorted in some bits'," laughed Taane - a reference to the loping basslines characterising the dubstep influences on the album.
Recording at home, Taane recruited a New Zealand line-up to feature on the album, including long-time stalwarts Concord Dawn, Truth and Optimus Gryme, alongside newcomers such as Crushington.
While he was stoked to get his mates on the record, he said the futuristic line of the album had always been part of what he has done.
"Past, Present, and Future was pretty futuristic in some terms, as well, so I guess I've always tried to keep on the fresh tip with things, but always remember my roots, in the whole dub reggae thing."
Into The World Of Light is one side of the coin for Taane. In November, he will release the other side.
The album out now is bouncy, bassy, and beat-driven. The acoustic album to come will have party tunes and love songs.
Until then, in addition to New Zealand and Australian album release tours, Taane will be touring Europe as Shapeshifter's sound engineer, producing the solo album of Shihad singer Jon Toogood and the unreleased material of the late Pauly Fuemana.
For now, he is looking forward to playing for the first time in over a year.
"I'm going to bring my acoustic guitar beforehand and bang out some acoustic songs and then just get into it with DJ Sambora and ... just make a really big party of it."
• Tiki Taane is playing two album release party shows at Subculture bass-bar on March 26 and 27. Pre-sales $20 from Subculture and Quest.
