Bob Schwartz

The Avalanches
By Andy Kellman
AllMusic

The Avalanches are bent on filtering their all-encompassing record collections through sampling and original instrumentation that owes most to hip-hop. The Australian group truly arrived in 2000 with Since I Left You. An expansive suite in the lineage of sample-based landmarks such as Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, and DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing….., the album distinguished itself with an unbridled sense of joy — exemplified not only by the sound of whinnying horses — and minimal original vocal content, left to ingeniously recontextualized voices from disparate sources. Even in the wake of numerous awards, sales certifications, and the attainment of a global following, its stature continued to heighten through the release of the group’s long-anticipated 2016 follow-up, Wildflower, a more collaborative effort that offered new shades of psychedelia and topped the Australian album chart. We Will Always Love You, another wide-ranging set filled with imaginative pairings of featured artists, returned the group to the Top Ten. They reappeared in 2026 with “Together,” an ecstatic dancefloor collaboration with Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza, and Prentiss.

Before the Avalanches took shape in 1997, core members Robbie Chater and Toni Di Blasi, along with fellow founding member Darren Seltmann, were in the Melbourne-based noise-punk band Alarm 115. The deportation of drummer Manabu Etoh prompted a new project, the making of a sample-based demo — utilizing scores of used records…

In the works for over two years, a period lengthened by sample clearances and other business matters, Since I Left You, the Avalanches’ first album, was issued first in Australia in November 2000. A continuous hour-long collage pieced together with thousands of samples, it received a response from critics and the public similar to its glowing quality. The group even had the blessing of Madonna, who allowed them to use the bass line from her early hit “Holiday.” Beggars Banquet offshoot XL issued the album in the U.K. in May 2001, and a U.S. edition on Sire followed that November. “Frontier Psychiatrist” and the title track charted in Australia and were Top 20 hits in the U.K., where the album reached number eight. Remixes from the select likes of formative inspiration Prince Paul, Stereolab, and Cornelius enhanced the Avalanches’ image. The album led to four ARIA awards and was eventually certified platinum in Australia.

Admiration for Since I Left You seemed to intensify with each year that passed without a follow-up. What early supporters and converts got instead was a handful of scattered remixes for the likes of Belle and Sebastian, Wolfmother, and Franz Ferdinand until 2007, when the group seemed to disappear entirely, leaving only rumors of a potential second album. In truth, they had started banking material that over time grew to 40 songs. Nothing resembling an album was ever finished, though, as the Avalanches devoted surplus energy to other projects, like scoring a King Kong musical and working on an animated film that never saw the light of day.

The silence ended in July 2016 when the Avalanches — essentially Chater, Di Blasi, and De La Cruz — made their proper return with Wildflower. The trippy album drew from their interim projects, and while it boasted its own lengthy list of sample sources, it also featured numerous guest instrumentalists and vocalists across the fields of left-field rap and underground rock, from MF Doom and Danny Brown to Jennifer Herrema and David Berman. Warmly received by listeners and critics, Wildflower topped the Australian chart, went Top Ten in the U.K., and entered the Billboard 200 at number 27….We Will Always Love You, was released in December 2020 and entered the Australian chart in 2020.

It is never too late to discover previously unknown-to-you creators and creations, whether you’ve missed them for decades or centuries. Where there’s life there’s listening.

I just discovered The Avalanches, their first album released twenty-six years ago. It is like unwrapping a gift that has been under the tree all this time.

Above is a good description, though reading about music you haven’t heard is a poor substitute, especially when it is a kind of music you have little reference for. When The Avalanches music emerged, not just using samples but mostly composed of samples, the term “plunderphonics” was used. (However, the samples are all cleared, not stolen.) Like creating a mosaic out of found objects, it could be a mess, but if you are artists, it could be a masterpiece.

I know this music is good, not just because I like it or because of the reviews and regard, but because when it was playing this morning, a very discriminating and picky listener passed by and said, “good music.” It is. Up. Lifting. Listen.