Peter Garrett Joined Bad//Dreems For A Moving And Pointed ‘Like A Version’
It's summed up best by a YouTube comment: "This is what 'Like a Version' is all about."
Adelaide’s BAD//DREEMS bought in a stack of friends into the triple j studios for their Like A Version, including Peter Garrett.
The band needed a bit of help for their cover of choice — Warumpi Band’s 1985 anti-racism rock song ‘Blackfella/Whitefella’. In addition to Garrett, BAD//DREEMS enlisted Emily Wurramara and Don Nunggarrgalu & Brad Bara from Mambali, a nine piece from South East Arnhem Land and one of the standouts at this year’s Bigsound.
The final product sees DREEMS’ lead singer Ben Marwe and Garrett alternate verses, with Wurramara on backing vocals. Bara takes over in the bridge over clapping sticks and a didgeridoo.
With so many people in the studio, there wasn’t a lot of room — but don’t worry, Garrett still did a lot of decidedly Garrett movements. It’s a stirring track surmised best by an early YouTube comment: “This is what Like a Version is all about.”
The timely cover arrives in a week of nation-wide protests after a 28-year-old police officer allegedly shot dead a 19-year-old Warlpiri man Kumanjayi Walker over the weekend. The officer has since been charged with murder.
BAD//DREEMS also performed a rendition on ‘Sonny’, their lead single from third album Doomsday Ballet, released last month. The four-piece just finished up a national tour, and are about to head to Europe. Watch them both below, and if you’re in the mood revisit our list of the best LAVs of the decade.