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 Drowning, Waving January 1986. Bridie and Phillips also worked on the soundtrack for "Canoe Man", a documentary about canoe makers from Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. Their work resulted in a six-track extended play (EP), "The Sing Sing", which was released in June. Other members of Not Drowning, Waving have included Penny Hewson and Andrew Carswell. In June 1987, the band issued their third album, "Cold and the Crackle" which was followed in December with an EP, "I Did", recorded with Robby Douglas Turner on vocals. By 1989, Not Drowning, Waving left Rampant Records and signed with Mighty Boy to issue