The Avalanches

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Avalances is, as Tim says, the result of happy accident, those original combinations are still evident, but then the raw inspiration has been sugar coated, or sun kissed, (depending on how you take it.) In particular I'm impressed what appears to be 'a love of their own sound', almost as if this album is a celebration of the initial mix, and although I agree with the critisism that it lacks 'heart' (since when did party soundtracks need a heart) their passion is expressed in the unremitting enthusiasm. On first listen, I found myself trying to turn it off after the a couple tracks, just for being too damn perky, but it was impossible, like making you way back to the shore when the waves keep crashing over and dragging you back out. Despite my initial problems the shameless effervescance rises above the eclectic self-congratulation that limits so many other bargain bin excursions, and the sequence of 'A Different Feeling' and 'Electricity' are evidence that there's more to them than mere play.
It's a milestone on the dull route from Cold-cut's Journeys By DJs, which shares the same broad scope, but lacks the lazer sighted attention to detail, that comes as the result of studio post- production. I'm surprised they pulled it off as access to a vinyl stackola and a DMX champion DJ is no guarantee of success. Still sublime, still ridiculous.
By the way, what's the Ehot sample, the vocoded mantra, something circa 96/97, Up Bustle and Out perhaps? Please, it's driving me mad.

K-reg, Thursday, 17 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Avalances vs Daft Punk? Similar in that they are both complete albums, work from what has already come before, and share a sense of humour, but DP are taking a different position to the Avalances. I find that whereas A seem to be revelling in what they have found, making jokes, DP don't make the distinction between themselves and the music, the humour is dead-pan, suggesting that they themselves are the source of the music (this backed up by the robot gag)

K-reg, Thursday, 17 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Have no idea what the vocoder vocals from "Etoh" are from originally, but it's probably my favourite moment on the album - funny that Daft Punk and The Avalanches both hit upon the idea of robots scatting at the same time. Admittedly the processes and results are both quite different. I think the vocal says "Did me wrong" before it launches off into cut up mayhem, if that helps at all.

Tim, Friday, 18 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

one month passes...
Trawling through the net to see if anybody had i.d'd the dexter sample (i heard it was from the same old film that might have inspired the cartoon). Anyhow just thought id contribute my view, I found the single Since I Left You exceedingly annoying, I dont know if it would sound better in context with the rest of the album but somehow i doubt it. The only other track i have heard is Frontier Psychiatry which was in a cold cut set i have on bootleg, i have to admit that I really like the cold-cut like crasy sampling of the tune, but from what people have posted here I somehow doubt that theres anything else on the album like it.

Nick Davidson, Wednesday, 20 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Decided not to wait for the American release, and I don't regret it. This is an excellent album, no question, but from what people were saying I expected it to be a little more, er, revolutionary or something. Like a new direction in music. Not that good music need take a new direction. It kind of reminds me of The Clientele, in that The Avalanches work within an established form and do it very, very well, instead of trying something new.

The way each song flows into the next (what brilliant editing!), I'm sure it works much better as a whole. This is not a record for the Napster freaks, I don't think. So anyone who has heard a track or two and is on the fence should take the plunge.

Mark, Wednesday, 20 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two years pass...
http://www.theavalanches.com/images/avalancheplus-tshirtclub-nataliewood1.jpg

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 00:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Catching Dexter, the Avalanches DJ, in a few weeks, he's supposed to cut it up real well live and has received huge props from Public Enemy's Chuck D. Grandmaster Flash called him the most creative and original DJ in the world. Oh and he's Australian

mentalist (mentalist), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 01:10 (twenty-two years ago)

your point?

cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 01:17 (twenty-two years ago)

the most creative and original DJ in the world is Australian!

s1utsky (slutsky), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 01:20 (twenty-two years ago)

What is that beautiful image, Spencer?

Sonny A. (Keiko), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 01:35 (twenty-two years ago)

My point about what?

That luminarioes say he's great? well that just shows I'm a shallow person influenced by what other people say rather than what I hear.

That he's Australian? that my shallowness extends to the lowest most destructive emotion, patriotism,

That I am seeing him live in few weeks? that my general shallowness inevitably leads to the conclusion that I will have to see him live in the next few weeks (along with the Mad Professor).

Bring it on

mentalist (mentalist), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 02:00 (twenty-two years ago)

where did grandmaster flash call him the most original and creative dj in the world?

cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 02:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I've seen it quoted many places around the web. Try a search in google ["grandmaster flash" dexter avalanches] and you'll find many references to what Grandmaster Flash (and Chuck D) have said about him.

mentalist (mentalist), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 03:03 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, I'm finding alot of references to him saying it but I haven't actually found the place (or context) he said it. has anyone under 40 said it?

cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 03:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I just did :)

mentalist (mentalist), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 04:10 (twenty-two years ago)

What is that beautiful image, Spencer?

That's from a t-shirt they sell on their website.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 04:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I love that white Stepford-Cat!

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 07:13 (twenty-two years ago)

What's the deal with the Avalanches these days? So much love back in early 2001, then they seemed to disappear without trace almost as quickly as they appeared.

Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 08:15 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm under 40, and i'll say it too.

their supposed to be working on the new record now. who knows when it'll see the light of day. i doubt it would be before late 2004.

glenny g2003 (glenny g2003), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

people over 40 = not allowed to like or talk about good music, donchaknow...

Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 10:42 (twenty-two years ago)

would love to see a new EP by them extremely soon

stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 12:03 (twenty-two years ago)

haven't seen him play a set, but remember a friend had a dmc tape with dexter in the finals and he was the only one close to bumping it as slick as craze. he played the solo from 'killing in the name of' with a tone blast. our love was like wo.

ps chuck d hypin somethin is like yr mum choosin yr girlfriends.

nebbesh (nebbesh), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 12:10 (twenty-two years ago)

What's the deal with the Avalanches these days? So much love back in early 2001, then they seemed to disappear without trace almost as quickly as they appeared.

It takes a damn long time to make records like theirs. That is all, I'd guess.

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 1 October 2003 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...
New album anytime soon would be nice.

Chris B. Sure (Chris V), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 14:44 (twenty-two years ago)

new anything

cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

no kidding. do they even exist anymore?

Chris B. Sure (Chris V), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:21 (twenty-two years ago)

all I can figure is it takes a long time to do what they do (or something)

cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:26 (twenty-two years ago)

australians - represent! what's the 411?

cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:26 (twenty-two years ago)

three years though!

Chris B. Sure (Chris V), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Dexter's playing here on Friday, I hear he is great fun.

Ronan (Ronan), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:36 (twenty-two years ago)

are you going Ronan? You should ask him what the hell is going on. ;)

Chris B. Sure (Chris V), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:37 (twenty-two years ago)

yes I will if I go! It's in a tiny bar too so asking him should be no problem.

Ronan (Ronan), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:39 (twenty-two years ago)

yay

Chris B. Sure (Chris V), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I think they've been working on it but in a rather desultory fashion. Since I Left You took a couple of years to make, incidentally.

Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 13 November 2003 05:25 (twenty-two years ago)

robbie and darren are holed up working on it, james and dexta are out there djing, tony is doing nothing. wait... where's mark p?? he interviewed them and knows all about their new techniques!

minna (minna), Thursday, 13 November 2003 05:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Y'know, 'Since I Left You' is so untouchable and then you hear Gimix and you're not sure if it's even better or EVEN BETTER.

I'm ordering that f*cking kitten shirt.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 13 November 2003 08:05 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.theavalanches.com/images/avalancheplus-tshirtclub-ymc1.jpg

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 13 November 2003 08:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Dexter DJs often around these parts

mentalist (mentalist), Thursday, 13 November 2003 10:08 (twenty-two years ago)

here is mark p's article with lots of detailed tech talk

minna (minna), Thursday, 13 November 2003 11:35 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...
a note from the website re: the remix of "I'm a Cuckoo" by Belle & Sebastian

"Update: Belle & Sebastian Remix

The Belle & Sebastian - I'm A Cuckoo (Avalanches remix) now circulating on radio and promo CD's is not the final remix version, but rather a work-in-progress mix which was pressed up by mistake and sent to UK radio and press.

The final mix will appear (as planned) when the single is released in -

UK: CD and DVD formats on Feb 16
USA: CD on Feb 24, DVD on Mar 9"

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 15 January 2004 07:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Both those pictures are sooo cool!

Rachel, Thursday, 15 January 2004 07:41 (twenty-two years ago)

they're from t-shirts, but they're sold out :(

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 15 January 2004 08:08 (twenty-two years ago)

there's a spiel up on the modular website about them working on the rekkid, or the remix rather.

glenny g2003 (glenny g2003), Thursday, 15 January 2004 11:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Cool! I've got a copy of that Belle and Sebastian remix. PAYDAY!

tdk, Thursday, 15 January 2004 11:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Better than the Badly Drawn and Manics one?

Barima (Barima), Thursday, 15 January 2004 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

where can i find this remix? HELP

s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm sharing it on Soulseek at the moment, username juror8

Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:16 (twenty-two years ago)

sweeet! thanks dom!

s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 15 January 2004 21:27 (twenty-two years ago)

i think that would be the unfinished version.

glenny g2003 (glenny g2003), Thursday, 15 January 2004 22:16 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...
In new news, Dexter has left the group. Confirmed at www.theavalanches.com . Now more intrigued about a new record because of this.

Barima (Barima), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 12:17 (twenty-two years ago)

the whole rollout feels like they signed up with WARP, which is unexpected and a cool direction for them to take. there is certain BoC creepiness even. they always shared the blurry childhood memories vibe with BoC but as a completely different warm blissful version of it.

also i love We Will Always Love You but it can be a downer, so i hope it'll be something that will be as light mood wise as Since I Left You.

i still hope they'll put out a full blown disco album at some point!

scanner darkly, Sunday, 10 May 2026 02:11 (one month ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSa1zsPcj8w

i don't think i have any interest in this

ufo, Thursday, 14 May 2026 21:19 (four weeks ago)

its so sparkly though

frogbs, Thursday, 14 May 2026 21:26 (four weeks ago)

I'm on board!

Spencer Chow, Thursday, 14 May 2026 23:14 (four weeks ago)

why is this song so awesome

corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 19 May 2026 09:06 (three weeks ago)

Saw this thread was updated and said to myself "if anyone in there doesn't like 'Together' then they can kick rocks", glad we're in the clear

really looking forward to wearily scrolling past all your posts (Champiness), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 20:19 (three weeks ago)

it just occurred to me that I never actually listened to to their 2020 album, so I'm doing that now and it's excellent. sounds like a really good Gorillaz album to me, they've got Four Tet's ear for very pleasant sounds. wish I'd gotten into it during the pandemic.

frogbs, Tuesday, 26 May 2026 04:15 (two weeks ago)

I am curious though about all the guest spots, are they actually giving them parts to perform or is it a case of them just going "give us something" and figuring out what to do with it later? In other words did they ask Kurt Vile to do that or did he just come up with it on his own?

frogbs, Tuesday, 26 May 2026 14:10 (two weeks ago)

Nearly all of the guests* have writing credits. They were all sought out for bringing their own voice to a piece in progress: if a request didn’t pan out, that song got scrapped. Ppl got sent an explanation of the themes of the album to prompt what they wrote/played/sang.

Here’s Vile specifically:

avalanches are one of my fave bands doing it today their recordings put me in a trance

loved doing that they sent me the backtrack when I was pretty delirious on tour in Europe in 2019 and all the words came out pretty quick...

just fried and trying to stay spiritual but there was a lot of stuff that Robbie emailed me ... vibe text to go on ... that influenced me

we were on the same wavelength or something

loved the way the recording came out was surprised to hear Wayne coyne pop in at the end but that was cool (the main difference)

can't wait to work with them again, true modern inspirations


*Mick Jones doesn’t get writing for his BAD-style countermelody BVs, but he wasn’t asked to be on the record, just happened to be in the studio with Cola Boyy at the time. In fact, you might say that his presence on the record was… a Big Audio Mistake!!

uploading this content requires perseveration (sic), Tuesday, 26 May 2026 19:03 (two weeks ago)

ya that makes sense - the Cornelius bit for instance I'm sure they just asked "hey give us one of those moody guitar pieces you do". a lot of other guest spots though might as well be anyone, they don't really make sense unless they were just soliciting stuff from anyone whose business card they had. iirc Mouse on Mars' 2016 album Dimensional People was made this way, it's quite a bit wackier though

frogbs, Tuesday, 26 May 2026 19:21 (two weeks ago)

I know with quite a few of the collaborations on the album, they recorded with the artist present in a studio, and Cornelius was one of those, as they were sharing a bunch of stuff in their Instagram stories at the time.

MarkoP, Tuesday, 26 May 2026 21:42 (two weeks ago)

xp not sure if Mick Jones would have gotten a writing credit even if he had been invited, as I recall his contribution was the line "we go on fighting with each other" which is a paraphrase of "we go on hurting each other", written by Geld and Udell.

henry s, Tuesday, 26 May 2026 22:01 (two weeks ago)

I mean that’s why I specified the distinctly Jonesian melodic bits behind the verses, not the refrain. But it was only a set-up for the joke reference to a classic ILMeme.

uploading this content requires perseveration (sic), Tuesday, 26 May 2026 23:04 (two weeks ago)

a lot of other guest spots though might as well be anyone

idk the fact they do fit so well with the tracks/album makes their claim about matching music to artist v believable

they don't really make sense unless they were just soliciting stuff from anyone whose business card they had

the Avs manager got in touch at one point to ask “have you done a song with Tricky??” bcz they’d received an angry communiqué from Tricky’s manager. Robbie had organised it all by DMing Tricky on instagram.

uploading this content requires perseveration (sic), Tuesday, 26 May 2026 23:09 (two weeks ago)

The band talking about "Running Red Lights:"

“didn’t start out as a defining moment; ‘a single’ as it were. But Rivers responded to our fuzzed out Spacemen 3 inspired jam with such open heartedness, that we soon dropped all pretense and got down to the heart of the matter… loss. We love that wide eyed, elated, almost evangelical Los Angeles sense of possibility that he tapped into. He captures that feeling that comes on the other side of the abyss, when you have lost everything and know then, there is nothing more to lose. The way life is so beautiful and overwhelming and heartbreaking all at the same time."

Love how they dedicated the song to David Berman and used some lyrics from a Purple Mountains track in the song.

nicky lo-fi, Wednesday, 27 May 2026 01:18 (two weeks ago)

There was a snippet of what is likely to be "Every Single Weekend" with Jamie XX in a story on Instagram (that I don't see anymore) that sounded amazing.

Spencer Chow, Thursday, 28 May 2026 21:45 (two weeks ago)

says it will be out on June 1

Spencer Chow, Thursday, 28 May 2026 21:45 (two weeks ago)

a long snippet was on Jamie’s album last year

uploading this content requires perseveration (sic), Thursday, 28 May 2026 22:48 (two weeks ago)

here's the clip I was referring to: https://www.tiktok.com/@theavalanches/video/7645021726660644104

Spencer Chow, Thursday, 28 May 2026 23:53 (two weeks ago)

as a big fan of late disco/italo and bossa nova/tropicalia it is fun to spot the main samples in “every single weekend”. It is certainly the best bits of Gilberto’s Gil “axe baba” and the backing track of All Trouveè’s “Darling”, although I’d argue that “Barely Breaking Even” is such a disco classic in its own right that it is a little distracting. I do like the “children’s choir” take on the vocal hook though. The legacy of baby’s gang and “stand on the word” continues…

Michael F Gill, Monday, 8 June 2026 18:15 (three days ago)


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