Australian producer Taka Perry has recruited the likes of A.GIRL, Gia Vorne, and Emalia for a powerful Like a Version performance on triple j this morning, turning Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” into an anthem for the current times.
With triple j’s globally-recognised covers segment returning last month following a COVID-19-induced hiatus, some of the finest artists on the Australian music scene have been visiting the station’s studio to showcase their tunes to a waiting audience.
Following on from appearances by Maddy Jane, Hauskey, and Fergus James in recent weeks, this Friday saw Sydney-based producer Taka Perry recruit the talents of A.GIRL, Gia Vorne, and Emalia to cover Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks”, mixing in lyrics related to the Black Lives Matter movement alongside an interpolation of Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “All The Stars”.
“I remember old school Kanye playing on the radio growing up and ‘Jesus Walks’ was the song I loved the most,” Perry explained of his cover. “It’s such an iconic song and one that you think would have been done before but, surprisingly it wasn’t, so I knew I had to do it.
“I added ‘All The Stars’ because I felt like my favourite Like A Versions are the ones that give a nod to another song in their arrangement. What’s better than one cover? Doing two!
“I wanted to use the LAV platform to be able to shed some light on some of my favourite artists in the country that Australia may not have heard before. I decided to get in A.GIRL, Emalia and Gia, as they’re all so good at what they do, and unique to each other, that I knew they were the only ones that could take the performance where I wanted it to go.”
Prior to the masterful performance, Perry also shared a performance of his original single, “Only U”, which also features Gia Vorne on lead vocals.
“I immediately fell in love with Gia’s voice and had to do all I could to let others hear it too,” Perry explained of his meeting with Vorne at a songwriting camp last year. “The vocal you hear on ‘Only U’ is actually the second take of a demo vocal – it was too perfect to change so we left it there.”
