The Avalanches
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The Avalanches are an electronic music collective from Melbourne, Australia. They are well known for their energetic live shows and use of eclectic sampling, creating their debut album Since I Left You entirely out of over hundreds (some have claimed thousands) of samples, from records both obscure and massively popular. Their technique was most famously demonstrated on the single "Frontier Psychiatrist".
History
The group started out as a punk outfit, featuring Robbie Chater, Darren Seltmann, Gordon McQuilten and Toni Diblasi. This eventually evolved into hip hop, and by the time the group hit the Melbourne scene in 1997, there was a huge degree of hype surrounding them, with the band supporting Jon Spencer Blues Explosion after less than a half a dozen shows. They also supported the Beastie Boys on the Australian leg of the Hello Nasty tour in 1998.
Amidst a bidding war that year, the band managed to put out its debut release in September, a limited edition 7" single on Trifekta featuring the tracks "Rock City" and "Thank You Caroline". This was followed by the release of the extended player El Producto in December on Steve Pavlovic's Wondergram Records. Around this time DJ Dexter became a member of the group, joining the band on turntables.
In September 1999 came the first taste of the band's forthcoming debut album, with the release of the 12" vinyl EP Electricity. This marked a shift in the band's sound away from live hip hop - which had earned the band the title of the Australian Beastie Boys by one Melbourne music journalist - towards their now-trademark eclectic pastiche of samples. This change of direction was further reinforced with their well-known single "Frontier Psychiatrist", which debuted and peaked at #48 in Australia and #18 in the United Kingdom. Nick Hornby mentions the single in his book, Songbook (also known as 31 Songs), a discussion of 31 songs that have provided a soundtrack to his life.
The group's debut album, Since I Left You, was released in Australia on Modular Recordings in November 2000 - and was released in the UK in 2001 through XL Recordings, and in the US through Sire Records. The album is composed almost entirely out of samples, including the bass line for Madonna's Holiday, which she surprisingly gave them clearance to use - the first time she has ever done so. The album was praised by the critics and public alike, and peaked at #8 in the UK Albums Chart.
Since the release of the album, the group has undergone several line-up changes, with the departure of Gordon and DJ Dexter and the addition of James De La Cruz. The Avalanches conducted a tour of Australian capital city nightclubs in 2005, and opened for Jamiroquai on the Sydney leg of the Dynamite tour in December. During this gig, the crowd got restless, at one point cheering a picture of Jay Kay from the tour program held up by an audience member, rather than the band, and throwing Mentos at the group, causing them to walk off stage just seventy minutes into an allocated two-hour set.
In 2006 Modular Records announced that the Avalanches had completed their second album, which they had rejected it on the basis that it sounded "rushed.... Rather than push out a half-arsed, less than thought-out sophomore album, we’ve sent them back to the studio to spend a little more time on it. Fingers crossed they get it right this time."[link] This was later revealed to be a joke. "According to those collaborators who've heard bits and bobs its sounding like everything we dared not hope for, and so much more. They've made the record of their lives basically", Modular stated.
Legacy
Their success was a key element in the rise of bastard pop and mashups, both in the mainstream with songs like the Sugababes' Freak Like Me, artists such as DJ Yoda, Osymyso & Go Home Productions and the promotion of the underground scene which has produced crossover albums like Danger Mouse's Grey Album and Dean Gray's American Edit, often featuring uncleared song samples.Discography
Albums
- Since I Left You (2000)
Singles and EPs
- "Rock City" (1997)
- "El Producto" (1997)
- "Undersea Community" (1999)
- "Electricity" (1999)
- "Frontier Psychiatrist" (2000)
- "A Different Feeling" (2000)
- "Since I Left You" (2001)
- "Radio" (2001)
- "At Last Alone" (2001)
Remixes
- Gerling - "Enter Spacecapsule (Enter The Spaceship Mix by The Avalanches)" (1999)
- Rex Records - "The Avalanches - Thank You Caroline (Andy Votel Remix)" (2000)
- Badly Drawn Boy - "The Shining (The Avalanches Good Word For The Weekend Remix)" (2000)
- Manic Street Preachers - "So Why So Sad (Sean Penn Mix - Avalanches)" (2001)
- Belle & Sebastian - "I'm A Cuckoo (Avalanches Mix)" (2004)
- The Concretes - "Chico (Avalanches' Wernham Hogg Remix)" (2004)
- Wolfmother - "Woman (Avalanches Millstream Remix)" (2006)
- Franz Ferdinand - "Fade Together (Avalanches Remix)" (2006)
See also
External links
- [The Avalanches official site]
- [VH1.com : The Avalanches : Biography]
- [AllMusic Guide entry for The Avalanches]
- [Avalanches Mixes : fansite]
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