The Avalanches possess an uncanny knack for repurposing vintage recordings rather than simply unearthing them. The Australian outfit, intent on channeling its vast holdings of vinyl through hip-hop-rooted sampling and supplementary live playing, achieved its breakthrough with the 2000 release Since I Left You. That expansive, continuous work followed the blueprint of sample-driven milestones 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....., yet stood apart through its exuberant tone—evident in everything from the neighing of horses to the sparse, cleverly repurposed vocal fragments drawn from far-flung origins. Despite the ensuing awards, certifications, and international audience, the album’s stature only grew with the long-delayed arrival of the 2016 sequel Wildflower, a more collaborative set that introduced fresh psychedelic hues. After reaching the top of the Australian album chart, the group resurfaced in 2020 with We Will Always Love You, another expansive collection populated by numerous guest contributors.
Prior to the band’s formation in 1997, core members Robbie Chater and Toni Di Blasi, together with co-founder Darren Seltmann, had performed in Melbourne’s noise-punk outfit Alarm 115. Following the deportation of drummer Manabu Etoh, the remaining musicians launched a new endeavor built around a demo assembled from countless secondhand records and expanded the live configuration with Gordon McQuilten. Performing under various monikers—including Swinging Monkey Cocks—the quartet eventually adopted the name the Avalanches. Their first release was the frenetic hip-hop 7-inch “Rock City,” issued on the fledgling Trifekta label. By late 1997, DJ Dexter Fabay had joined, and with assistance from the short-lived Wondergram imprint the group issued the EP El Producto, which contained “Rock City.” This led to a lasting domestic agreement with Modular Recordings. An alliance with the U.K. label Rex Records yielded the 1999 Undersea Community EP, while Modular simultaneously put out the limited-edition Electricity EP. Toward the close of the year, James De La Cruz joined the lineup, and the band’s live reputation grew through support slots for the Beastie Boys and Stereolab.
After more than two years of work, extended by clearance and contractual issues, Since I Left You—the Avalanches’ debut album—appeared in Australia in November 2000. The hour-long, seamless collage constructed from thousands of samples earned immediate acclaim from both reviewers and listeners. The project even secured Madonna’s permission to incorporate the bass line from her early hit “Holiday.” XL Recordings, an offshoot of Beggars Banquet, released the album in the U.K. in May 2001, followed by a U.S. edition on Sire that November. “Frontier Psychiatrist” and the title track reached the Australian charts and climbed into the U.K. Top 20, where the LP peaked at number eight. Additional remixes by early influence Prince Paul, Stereolab, and Cornelius further elevated the group’s profile. The record garnered four ARIA awards and later achieved platinum status in Australia.
Esteem for Since I Left You continued to mount during the years without a successor. Instead of new material, supporters received only occasional remixes for artists such as Belle and Sebastian, Wolfmother, and Franz Ferdinand until 2007, when the group appeared to vanish amid speculation about a second album. In reality, dozens of tracks—eventually totaling around 40 songs—had been stockpiled, yet none coalesced into a finished LP as the members diverted energy into outside endeavors, including scoring a King Kong musical and an ultimately unrealized animated film.
The hiatus concluded in July 2016 when the Avalanches—now essentially comprising Chater, Di Blasi, and De La Cruz—returned with Wildflower. Drawing on material developed during the intervening projects, the psychedelic-leaning album incorporated its own extensive array of samples while also enlisting an array of guest musicians and vocalists spanning left-field rap and underground rock, among them MF Doom, Danny Brown, Jennifer Herrema, and David Berman. Welcomed by audiences and critics alike, Wildflower topped the Australian chart, reached the U.K. Top Ten, and debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200. The live lineup expanded to include Spank Rock and Eliza Wolfgramm on vocals. Four years later, the group issued a series of singles beginning with “We Will Always Love You,” featuring Blood Orange, and “Running Red Lights,” featuring Rivers Cuomo and Pink Siifu. The latter track was dedicated to Berman and included a quotation from the late artist’s Purple Mountains song “Darkness and Cold.” The parent album, We Will Always Love You, arrived in December 2020.
