Not Drowning, Waving provide guitar. Their name is derived from Stevie Smith's poem "Not Waving but Drowning". Rowan McKinnon soon joined on bass guitar and they recorded "Moving Around" with a drum machine. Other atmospheric instrumentals were recorded at the LaTrobe University's music department's studio. "Moving Around" was released as their debut single in April 1984 on the Rampant Records label. While recording tracks for the debut album, "Another Pond", Bridie and Phillips joined McKinnon (also on guitar) in the ambient pop band, Easter, with Russel Bradley on drums and percussion, and Tim Cole on vocals. Cole became sound engineer and recording producer
Not Waving but Drowning Be Crying." Kirsty Maccoll also has the lyric "And are you just waving or drowning?" in her song Innocence. The electronic music group Orbital recorded a song entitled "Waving Not Drowning" for their 2001 album, The Altogether. Erin McKean wrote a short story entitled "Not Waving But Drowning" which was published in "Machine of Death", a collection of short stories. In it she talks of the poem and the author. P.O.S wrote the song "That One" with the hook “I’m not waving I’m drowning.” Belgian filmmaker Elias Grootaers made a film in 2009 entitled "Not Waving, But Drowning" recording the