Waiting for the Day, Again: Bachelor Girl Revisit a Classic

28 years since the release of Bachelor Girl's seminal debut Waiting for the Day, the duo of vocalist Tania Doko and musician and producer James Roche return with Waiting For The Day: Artist Session, a re-imagined version of their first album featuring collaboration with some of the country's best artists.

Featuring 15 reworked tracks with 15 celebrated Australian artists, including Darren Hayes, Delta Goodrem, Tommy Emmanuel, Jessica Mauboy and more, the album was a huge undertaking.

"It's been a truckload of work to co-ordinate 15 artists, but mammoth projects do take a little 'crazy', a lot of time and meticulous attention to detail," says Doko. "We're incredibly grateful to every artist, their teams, our families, our band and everyone who helped turn what felt virtually impossible into a real-life celebration of our very first song babies."

Bachelor Girl are also midway through a national tour celebrating the release of Waiting For The Day: Artist Session, hitting The Gov on Friday 28 August. To coincide with the release of their album and upcoming Adelaide show, we chatted to Doko about her time living in Sweden, working with Darren Hayes and what fans can expect from their live show.

Hey Tania. Thanks for taking some time to answer a few questions. First off, before we get into the new album, what's your relationship been with Waiting for the Day over the past 25+ years? 

Always grateful; the album and the singles from it gave us a great start to Bachelor Girl's career. We don't take it for granted.

When you look back on that period of your life, what's your favourite memory of making the album and then the reception it received? 

It was exciting, of course, and the acknowledgement from fans and peers and the music industry was wonderful to get. The best thing was to hear the crowd sing our songs back to us at gigs, and that still happens today.

Waiting for the Day was a commercial success, spawned multiple hits and even earned Bachelor Girl an ARIA Award. Did you feel any pressure to repeat the success with your follow-up Dysfunctional? 

The second album is traditionally tricky. You've got your whole life to write your first record and five minutes to write your second one, and this time it has many more stakeholders and opinions to get involved. We think we did ok, but it was trickier than the first album.

You and James eventually went your separate ways in 2004 before reuniting some two decades later. During that time apart, you moved to Sweden and spent time as a vocal coach. What prompted that move, and how did you enjoy that experience? 

Sweden was one of the songwriting hubs of the world. I'd loved visiting it on a promo tour, and somehow I just felt a call to go there. It worked out - I married my Swedish husband and became a mother over there. I revelled in the creative industry over there, but soon my Swedes wanted a sunnier climate, so we moved back to Australia.

When you returned, you reunited with James and released several Bachelor Girl singles. When did the idea to reimagine your debut album start to take shape, and what was the thought behind getting other artists involved? 

We had the initial idea to rerecord the first album, but initially it was a small project; just acoustic and casual. The feature artist thing started with asking Tommy Emmanuel to play guitar on something. Then we asked Delta Goodrem. Then....on and on, until we have 15 artists with the 15 songs on the album.

What was it like getting back in the studio with James after all these years? Like riding a bike, or did it take you both some time to get your bearings? 

We still have the same great connection we had at day one. It is quite amazing that our business, creative and friendly relationship is as clear and supportive as it has ever been. We're lucky to have found such a partnership.

READ MORE: A Decade of Glorious Heights: Montaigne Reflects on the Album That Changed Everything

When it comes to the collaborations on the album, how did you go about choosing the artists? Are they friends of yours, or is it artists you love and wanted to work with, or a bit of both? 

We rang up people we know and asked people backstage at the festival gigs we were doing. Somehow it all added up to a full list!

Of the singles you’ve released so far, I'm a big fan of 'Blind', which features Darren Hayes. How did you get him involved and what was he like to work with?

We've known Darren for a while, but most recently we toured with him a couple of years back. It was easy to get in touch and ask him to collaborate. He was in LA, recorded there and sent us his vocals to strip onto our track. He did a great job.

One song that's not been released yet is 'Don’t Hold Back' with Suze DeMarchi, a true legend. What can you tell us about this song and working with her?

On the original Waiting For The Day, [the song] was maudlin and dark. This time we chose to give it a rock intensity. That suits Suze, as she is one of the great rock chicks of Oz. 

You're currently touring the album across the country. How have the shows been received so far, and are fans digging the new versions of your classic tracks?

We wondered if fans would cope with the songs they know all dressed up in different clothing; but what do you know; they love it! Shows have been going very well.

You hit Adelaide at the end of the month, performing at The Gov. What are your memories of performing in Adelaide, and what can fans expect from your live show?

Adelaide has always been very kind to us. We last performed there as an acoustic two-person show, and this time we bring the full band. We've played the Gov before a few times; most recently on a tour with Boom Crash Opera. We're looking forward to this one.

Once the album is out in the world, what’s next for Bachelor Girl? 

We'll all find out together.

Waiting For The Day: Artist Sessions is out now. Listen here. Catch Bachelor Girl at The Gov on Friday 28 August. Tickets on sale now via oztix.com.au.