The Avalanches Hear The World In Their Music
by Jade
September 16, 2016
In 2000 The Avalanches released their debut album, Since I Left You to critical and commercial success. Their cult fan base eagerly awaited their next release which was promised to come out in the next few years. And when five years passed with no record, fans wondered what was going on with their favorite band. When 10 years passed, there were teases of possible release dates that seemed to toy with the hearts of The Avalanches' fans. When 15 years passed nearly all hope was lost, but then, in May of 2016 a video appeared to point to an official new album from the band. And in June, the first song in 16 years hit the airwaves.
Jade caught up with Robbie and Tony from The Avalanches to check in on how they're dealing with the world now that Wildflower is out and fans are finally able to see what they have been working on for the last 16 years.
On the theme of Wildflower:
"I love music with a day dreamy quality. Music that invokes memory and makes you feel kinda half a sleep...The album as a whole has a location in our minds, the early part of the album is like being in the city. And then, by the time you reach the end of the album you're in some kind of desert somewhere, so there that whole road trip arc."
On waiting 16 years to put out a new album:
"...it was the lack of pressure [to make a new album] and we just went about our business of making whatever music we felt like making and then five years after [Since I Left You] we kind of realized, none of this really sounds like a record and then over time I think we the urgency grew to like pull it off."
On how sampling music has changed their daily life:
"[we see things]completely differently. Especially towards the end of this album, we were collecting so many street sounds and ambient sounds from different movies or different sources. So, there'd be a dog barking or a door closing, or a kid yelling on the street, or the sound of someone skipping rope or lighting a cigarette or
-jumping a fence - you know. And so, you're leaving the studio and you're walking down the street and you're just like oh my god listen to that. The world just sounds like our music and the music sounds like the world."