Jem Cassar-Daley has delivered a heartfelt reimagining of Men at Work’s classic “Who Can It Be Now?” for her return to Like a Version, joined by fellow Australian singer-songwriter Dan Sultan.
In the triple j studio, the proud Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung artist recruited Sultan to transform Colin Hay’s iconic lead vocal into a duet, while stripping back the 1981 hit into a warm, piano-led indie arrangement.
Per triple j, Cassar-Daley said the song held a special place in her childhood thanks to her mum’s love of music. “There are a lot of Colin Hay’s songwriting that really inspires me as an artist,” she explained. “He has this conversational approach and his lyrics are really relaxed. He just is such a powerful storyteller.”
Rather than recreate the original’s instantly recognisable sound, Cassar-Daley rebuilt the track around piano before replacing its famous saxophone hook with cello, giving the song a softer, more intimate feel.
“Usually I love to base a lot of things around the piano,” she said. “That just feels so comfortable to me and feels like an extension of myself as an artist. So we kind of really went from there.
“It was beautiful to add a cello for the riff instead of the iconic saxophone riff. It brought just like a nice little warmth and kind of mellowed it a little bit more for this version.”
Check out her cover below.
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While in the studio, she also performed her new release “Cool Girl”, inspired by the Rosamund Pike-fronted film Gone Girl.
The song was produced by Robby De Sa, and explores the experience of losing yourself while trying to conform to other people’s expectations.
