Babe Rainbow stepped into triple j’s Like A Version studio to cover Dido’s 1998 hit, “Thank You”.
The psych-rock band brought their laid-back style to the downhearted original, turning it into the perfect song for a relaxing afternoon by the beach. Driven by their characteristically warm acoustic guitars and soft bass, the cover also featured a delicate vocal performance by the band’s Angus Dowling.
Dowling and guitarist Jack Crowther said they considered adding an homage to Eminem’s hit “Stan”, which famously sampleds Dido’s single.
“So we were obviously debating about whether or not we should sample Eminem in our version,” said Dowling.
“And then we ended up just deciding not to, obviously, because it didn’t really fit with our mellow take. And then once we started listening to the Eminem version which is sick, it made the piano of her original seem kind of spooky.”
Inspired by Dido’s original and the moody Eminem sample, Crowther said the deeper guitar tones paired perfectly with Dowlings vocals.
“When we decided that was the key, his voice was weaving so nicely with the guitar,” he said. “It felt really cool, just him and I singing it.”
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The cover marks the first time the band have appeared on Like A Version, where they also chose to perform “Long Live the Wilderness”, a track from their latest album Slipper Imp and Shakaerator.
The 11-track album was created on an old banana farm in a huge warehouse alongside Timon Martin and Miles Myjavec.
On their creative processes, Dowling explained that “keeping a loose feeling to the music is so important. An idea develops together outside but it doesn’t take its wings until you take it into the studio. We experiment with synths and drum machines and overdubs, and we love that, but we never wanna escape too far from the hippie power of the music. We’re made of rainbow.”
Babe Rainbow recently wrapped up their Australian and New Zealand tour and will kick off a US run in August (see dates here).
Check out their Like A Version performance below.
