Since I Left You

Avalanches | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Modular Interscope
• ASIN: B0002C4ILS
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,279 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > Dance & DJ > Turntablists
  • #58 in Music > Dance & DJ > Big Beat

Track Listings

1. Since I Left You

2. Stay Another Season

3. Radio

4. Two Hearts In 3/4 Time

5. . Avalanche Rock

6. Flight Tonight

7. Close To You

8. Diners Only

9. Different Feeling, A

10. Electricity

11. Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life

12. Pablo's Cruise

13. Frontier Psychiatrist - (video)

14. Etoh

15. Summer Crane

16. Little Journey

17. Live At Dominoes

18. Extra Kings

Editorial Reviews

Playful, twisted, psychedelic, sampledelic, delirious and infectious, it's the sound of six men who spent most of adolescence rummaging through bargain bins in Melbourne's record shops, constructing their own post-modern disco-pop amalgam from rubbish '50s rejects and saccharine '60s pap. "Our records make sense in their own world," says Robbie Chater, the group's baby-faced spokesman. "We always wanted to make a record with a life of its own that you could lose yourself in."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Avalanche rock August 30, 2004

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

The Avalanches are a DJ's dream come true -- six Aussies who took hundreds of sound snatches, and wove together a wildly playful kind of electronica. Their first (and so far, only) album, "Since I Left You," is a tangle of the delicate, the weird, and the incredibly danceable.

It kicks off with the sparkling "Since I Left You," but the best is yet to come. The Avalanches manage to attain both a typical "sound" and plenty of originality in their songs, such as the bleeps-and-horns "Different Feeling," the knob-twiddling basslines of "Radio," the sputtery dance number "Live At Dominoes," and the interference-laden Rastafarian rock "Flight Tonight."

But with all the dance tracks, the Avalanches have their softer side: the delicately upbeat "Two Hearts in 3/4 Time," the swaying "Electricity," the brief and staticky "Pablo's Cruise," and the gauzy, multilayered "Etoh." It rounds off with the majestically languid "Extra Kings," which has a long sweep of distortion and chaos in the middle.

It's almost too easy to dance to the Avalanches. They take almost a thousand mismatched sounds and manage to cobble them into some really brilliant music. What's especially brilliant is the way these patchwork dance tracks manage to find solid, simple grooves, and stick to them right to the end.

"Since I Left You" isn't perfect -- at times the fragments don't quite mesh together. Some parts are pure chaos, but oddly they don't mar the overall sound; instead, they enhance it. Scattered in amongst the melody is the sound of video games, horses, discos, golf instructions, flutes, pianos, and seagulls -- it adds a strangely whimsical sound to the dance music.

The vocals tend to be samples repeated over and over, just under the surface of the music.... Among the vocal snatches are the ethereal "Since I left you/I found the world so new!" or determined "Book of flight tonight." So the lyrics are often quite simple, except for the hysterically funny "Frontier Psychiatrist" ("Lie down on the couch, what does that mean?/You're a nut! You're crazy in the coconut!").

"Since I Left You" takes hundreds of random sound fragments, and turns them into a mosaic. Fun, playful, fast and hypnotically bizarre, this is a must have for fans of quirky music. Read more ›

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Party Album Ever February 21, 2006

By E-CLoud

Format:Audio CD

I don't understand how someone could say that some of the songs are just filler with only half the songs being good. Every single minute of the song there is something fascinating/interesting/beautiful/funky/meaningful/whimsical/subtle going on, although not all at the same time. This is in my top 5 favorite albums ever, (along with miles davis, faust, etc.), and I listened to it all the time for like 2 years. I never got sick of it, but gave it a rest just in case I were to ruin the freshness. There are new sounds and loops that I notice in the cd 3-4 years down the road, which is simply amazing considering how many times I've listened to it. Listen to it loud at a party, but also listen to it with headphones sometime to check out the dozens of layers of sound.

All the samples sound warm, organic, live, natural, and beautiful. They are put together in a mindblowingly complex/subtle/unique way, and they have an EXPERT way of continuing things for the perfect amount of time. The whole cd is like one beautiful, ever changing song. This is the only cd I know of that is like this. I can't compare it to anything, seriously. If someone finds another cd like this, please let us know. This is the kind of cd that I could burn for just about anybody and expect them to enjoy it. It's funky/danceable as hell, it's got alot of depth to it, it's psychedelic in the way all the songs connect and the strange samples, it has MANY MANY layers to it that all sync up perfectly, it's extremely unique, very creative, and just plain wonderful. It's everything I would want in a dj/samples/collage/dance/electronic cd and more. Sort of the way Bitches Brew by Miles Davis was for jazz/rock/improvised music/funk, this album is for dance/electronic/sampled music.... Uncategorizable, timeless, a mix of many different styles combined perfectly, and subtle. I can't say enough about this cd. I've gotten more enjoyment out of Since I Left You than I've gotten out of 20 cd's combined. You should get it, and if you're at all open or sensitive to what the hell is going on, you'll dig it immensely. Read more ›

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A real trip February 3, 2005

By Anthony Riddette

Format:Audio CD

I stumbled onto this ablum by just taking a punt while I was in a record shop, by asking the guy behind the counter to suggest an amazing CD to me.

I didn't give the CD a good listen at the shop and when I got it home I was a bit disappointed (it sounded all scrathcy like an old vinyl and that irritated me) and didn't play the album again for about 6 months.

Then one day I took out the album and played again and was stuned at how brilliant it is.

This ablum is a trip in the true sense of the word. You will be taken on a journey of musical genius (yes the word does get used over much but these guys really are musical geniuses) that not only enertains but it also transports.

This album fuctions a bit like a bunch of fragmented memories, jumping from place to place within a loose framework.

Dazzling and amazing stuff.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Masterpiece November 30, 2011

By Tom

Format:Audio CD

There has always been a fine line between art and stealing. Surely, someone cannot take a Monet painting and claim that it is his own. However, the practice of sampling clouds this boundary. Originally, the Avalanches' Since I Left You was not intended for wide-release due to uncertainty with this distinction. The album itself uses hundreds of vinyl samples. The depth and range of the Avalanches' sonic arsenal is quite impressive: Raekwon to the Four Tops, animal sounds to infomercials, old comedy routines to Madonna. However, the real brilliance of this album is how the samples are used, are integrated, and interact with one another. These sounds coalesce in such a way that put a fresh perspective on the original source material and evoke new emotions. This is not stealing, nor is it just sampling. This is arranging a mosaic from gemmed tiles to recreate a Byzantine icon. This is a god arranging individual molecules from a decomposed plant to form what will become a child's hand. This is masterful manipulation and control of the world around them. This is art.

The album's first breath is not that of a musical instrument or singing. Instead, indiscernible conversations are heard as if you are in a packed auditorium waiting for a concert to begin. Since I Left You is like the Sgt. Pepper's of the Millennial Generation; instead of taking on the persona of a fake band, the Avalanches become like a radio or television, churning out sounds, beats, and different musical styles for the audience. This facade carries throughout the album. The song "Tonight" starts with a sampled sound of applause welcoming the jazz singing of Nancy Wilson. "Close to You" as a laugh track similar to that of an ABC sitcom.... These specific samples humanize the album, reminding the audience that they are listening to something more than just music--a tangible performance.

There is no question that Since I Left You draws from both plunderphonics pioneer John Oswald and the school of musique concrete from the 1950s. The Avalanches similarly use musical and non-musical samples to blend hip-hop conventions with nostalgia for old time technology and culture. The sampling of "Everyday" by The Main Attraction and "The Sky's the Limit" by The Duprees gives a 60s to 70s feel to the title track. The added pitch manipulation of the vocals reminds one of a puerile Michael Jackson. However, these samples are complemented with a driving beat more likely to be heard in a modern hip-hop song than a doo-wop ballad. The cries of "Avalanche Rock" on the similarly titled track are tied to the violent rapping of Raekwon. However, the vinyl sampling makes the song aged like a fine wine. The Avalanches marry the old with the new. This union at first seems as unfeasible as Anne Boleyn driving a hover car; however the Avalanches' manipulation of samples casts anyway any blatant anachronisms, giving way to timeless music that cannot be defined by a single era.

Throughout the album, The Avalanches' meticulous selection and integration of samples is astonishing. In "Close To You," the Avalanches sample a funky synth, a moving flute, clanky pianos, and tires screeching. "Stay Another Season," uses sounds from a disco, a Jamaican singer, and Madonna's "Holiday." Standout track "Frontier Psychiatrist," utilizes a horse neighing, exercise videos, juicer infomercials, a cuckoo clock, and a gunshot. Separately, these may seem a bit ridiculous. However, the Avalanches make the sounds out of context seem natural. When listening to "Frontier Psychiatrist," the horse's neighing used as a bellwether to drive the horns and ghostly backing vocals is never second-guessed. It feels as though it belongs. The invitation to "come on down to the disco" at the beginning of "Stay Another Season" seems perfectly in place followed immediately by the pounding, something that might be heard in a large celebration. This auditory menagerie does not seem like a mix of exotic animals caged and forced to interact. Instead, it is as though they are set in the wild to roam and intermingle as they naturally would.

The use of samples in place of conventional vocals is also interesting. Most of the songs from the album use short phrases and repeat them. However, this repetition is not static; the sampled words become percussive instruments and are manipulated in such ways to yield unconventional new sonic textures, rhythms, and sounds. "Stay Another Season" uses the same vocals from the first track but adds fades, echoes, and clipping of the duration to the sample. The repetition of "sending those signals" in "Radio" meshes with the underlying bass line, taking on a new rhythm itself. Even with this repetition, there is never a second on the album in which you hear the same exact noise. Layers are constantly being added or manipulated. As "Radio" progresses, the vocal track is consumed by the increasingly intense beat, like a large piranha in a pond of tadpoles. Vinyl scratches on vocal tracks can be heard on this track as well as throughout "Frontier Psychiatrist." These subtle changes enhance the musicality of the work and make the audience remain engaged in the performance at hand. Again, these vocal samples are picked to represent a specific time and place. The added manipulation of the vocal track allows the layers to interact and complement one another, unifying sounds from unlike eras.

The meticulous craftsmanship of the Avalanches is something to admire. They are able to resurrect seemingly unrelated vinyl samples and bring them to life. These are not just songs; they are living, breathing entities with personalities. Each sample represents a different time and place. The collect of these creates this collage, a personally that the music assumes. Listening to Since I Left You is like collecting orphans from all generations since the invention of the phonograph and watching them frolic together. This is not sampling, nor is it just ordinary music. This is a collage of the modern era that will remain a timeless masterpiece. Read more ›