Back in 2000, Melbourne electronic group The Avalanches dropped an album they titled Since I Left You. Comprised almost entirely of samples, it was a quirky, kaleidoscopic collection of songs that signalled Australia’s mastery of electronic music and beat-making.
The album was universally acclaimed, receiving glowing reviews in numerous publications and making The Avalanches, a small collective of young Melbourne producers, one of the hottest properties in the Australian music scene. And then, nothing.
The band are yet to follow-up on their timeless debut, though they continue to tease fans. It was around this time last year that the band claimed their sophomore effort was in the process of being mixed and would be ready in “three weeks“.
It wasn’t, and fans have more or less given up on ever seeing so much as a tracklist from the album that has become the Australian equivalent of Chinese Democracy. Even word of an explosive Danny Brown collaboration wasn’t enough to pick up fans’ spirits.
However, this might. Departed member Darren Seltmann has started up his own project and the tracks are unmistakably Avlanches-esque. For all intents and purposes, this is about as close as we’re likely to get to hearing any new music from the Avalanches.
It was confirmed that Seltmann has left the group back in February last year after the musician’s wife, singer-songwriter Sally Seltmann, told the Herald Sun that he’d left the group. The news was soon confirmed by the band’s label, Modular Recordings.
“Yep, Darren hasn’t been in the band for a while, so officially the band is Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi right now. Album sounds awesome, but there’s no dates or anything planned. The official line is ‘stay tuned,'” read a statement from Modular.
