Wave Racer was up for this week’s instalment of triple j’s Like A Version and what a bloody delight. He took on a bop by The 1975 — ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’, taken from their 2018 album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships.
The producer stays pretty true to the original throughout but makes it prettier. It’s full of these shimmery sounds, like the auditory equivalent of the sparkles emoji.
In his Behind the Like A Version, Wave Racer reveals The 1975 is one of his favourite bands.
“I just love the glassy, chimey pop nature of the production,” he said. “I really wanted to recreate that in my cover.”
“To put my own spin on it, I wanted to keep the core of the song in tact. So I didn’t want to deviate too much from the main ideas in the song, the progression in the riffs and the melodies.
“What I wanted to do was enhance some of the in between parts.”
He performed his original ‘Look Up To Yourself’ while he was there too. It’s a whole vibe.
Last week, Wave Racer announced his debut album To Stop From Falling Off the Earth.
Watch Wave Racer take on The 1975’s ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’ and his own ‘Look Up To Yourself’ below. Be sure to catch his Behind the Like A Version interview too.
