The song we'd remix if the studio door swung open

Every band has that one track they keep turning over in their heads, the one they'd rebuild from the kick drum up. For us, the conversation starts the same way every time it comes up on the bus, usually around arvo when the road has worn everyone thin and the talk turns to what we'd do differently with a blank cheque and a few extra months in the studio.

We've toured Australia more times than we can count, and the crowds there have a way of reminding us which songs still matter. There's something about walking into a servo in Tamworth or grabbing a counter meal in Geelong and hearing our own voice drifting off a radio that makes the older tracks feel brand new. That energy is exactly what would fuel a remix.

If we got the call, we'd take "Drowning" back into the room. The original cut still holds up, but the bones of the song have always felt like they could carry something heavier and a little more modern. A remix would let us keep the emotional centre while rebuilding the walls around it.

The track we'd put under the knife

"Drowning" has been a live staple since the day we put it on a setlist. The chorus still gets the room moving, and you can feel every ounce of Jared's vocal when the lights drop. Australian crowds claim it as their own, belting the bridge back at us like they've known the words for years.

The arrangement has room to breathe. Verses sit low and the chorus lifts, with pockets where you could push textures without losing the spine. That's why it would be the first tape we'd pull if the reels were still rolling.

Why the original still hits

The original mix has a warmth modern production sometimes loses. Guitars carry a bit of grit, the bass is round, and the drums sit in the pocket instead of fighting for the front. You can hear the room in the takes, and that's why it still connects in pubs from Brisbane to Bunbury.

There's a moment about two minutes in where everything drops and the vocal floats before the band crashes back in. That moment is the heart of the song, and any remix would have to protect it. Fans know exactly when to throw their hands up, and you don't mess with a moment like that.

Production tweaks we'd reach for

If we rebuilt it, the first thing we'd touch is the low end. We'd push the kick harder and let the bass guitar drive the chorus forward. Guitars would stay crunchy but we'd layer in a tighter rhythm take to give the verses more urgency.

A bit of synth could open up the bridge without softening the rock. We'd re-cut a few backing vocals in a live room with wooden floors and high ceilings, to give the chorus a stadium feel. The goal isn't to reinvent the song, just to let it punch through festival stacks.

How a remix could travel Australia

A new version deserves new stages, and Australia has no shortage of rooms where this thing would land.

City	Venue	Vibe
Sydney	The Enmore Theatre	Historic theatre, big singalongs
Melbourne	The Forum	Iconic room, walls that sweat
Brisbane	The Tivoli	Open air, festival energy
Adelaide	The Gov	Pub-style, tight and loud
Perth	Astor Theatre	Intimate, classic rock crowd
Hobart	Wrest Point showroom	Small stage, big hearts

Each room has its own personality, and the remix would flex differently in each. The Tivoli would let the chorus stretch out, while The Forum would turn every breakdown into a wall of sound. Hobart would feel like a mate's backyard party with serious amps.

Adding a live room and Aussie grit

Half the fun of a remix is the room you record it in, and Australia has studios that can match anything in Nashville or LA. A week at a place like Studios 301 with Melbourne session players would give the track a different kind of muscle. The looseness of Australian playing, from musicians who grew up on pub rock and the Saints as much as arena anthems, would slip into the takes.

We've played enough shows there to know the difference. Crowds cheer louder, the banter is sharper, and the beer is always cold. A remix built with that energy would sound like it.

Fan questions and what we'd ask

We get asked about remixes more than almost anything else, and the answers aren't as simple as picking a track. We've been jotting down tour stories and studio talk in the band's recent journal, and a few of those entries cover exactly this kind of question. The short version is yes, we'd love to, and yes, we'd do it our way.

If we sat down with fans at a soundcheck, the conversation would drift toward which demo to revisit, which producer to trust, and whether a remix would ever make it onto a vinyl bonus cut. Most of them would just want to hear the demo first, and so would we.

Tracks to keep the remix mood rolling

If you like the idea of a rock song reborn, here are a few remixes and reimaginings that did it right.

• "With or Without You" by U2, the dance floor rebuild
• "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve, the strings-forward refresh
• "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode, the stripped-back cut
• "Zombie" by Bad Wolves, the modern rock tribute
• "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden, the grunge revival take
• "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye, the Belgian-Australian rework

Pop a few of these on while you wait for news on our own remix, and tell us which one you'd put under the knife next.

Catch us on the next Australian run, keep an eye on the tour page, and jump into the merch store to grab a tee before the dates drop. The bus rolls again soon, the studio door is cracking open, and a remix is finally brewing.