GIMIX- a mixtape by The Avalanches

25-years ago The Avalanches blew my mind with their Since I Left You single and album of the same name. Friends and I went to see them at The Arches. Memories are vague. After all, we ended up in Alaska on Bath Lane until closing. 

I stumbled into work at 11am the following day, with the excuse that I had broken my glasses at a gig and had to get them repaired that morning. My boss just smiled. He knew I'd had a night on it. Thankfully I played fives with him and we had a good relationship. Everything was cool!

I'd woken up that morning to discover I'd bought a mixtape at the merch desk. As I put it on, when I got back from work, memories came back of The Avalanches mixing in Madonna's Holiday, Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On and Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone early in their set. After that ... I seem to remember a lot of jumping and bouncing on stage and in the crowd. There were a lot of people in The Avalanches live set up. Later that year I went down to see two of them DJ at Sankeys Soap in Manchester. At one point they dropped in Queen's I Want To Break Free. Half the crowd went with it, while the other half paused for a moment to ask ... are they really playing ....?

The mixtape I had bought was entitled GIMIX, essentially a bootleg/alternate universe version of Since I Left You. The Avalanches weren't thinking about a commercial international release for the mix/album they were working on, they weren't documenting the samples (over 3,500) they were using, they were simply having fun and attempting to make the best and coolest music they possibly could. 

So on GIMIX, a promo release in 2000, The Avalanches weren't limited by the sample clearances that eventually stripped back the commercial album. Even they don't have a record of everything they used.

GIMIX was way ahead of its time. A couple of years ahead of As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt II by Too Many DJ's that received a commercial release - albeit like an "official bootleg".

GIMIX begins with Since I Left You, complete with some extra dialogue that didn't make/wasn't cleared for the album. We then head off on the trip of a lifetime as The Avalanches take listeners on a ride through 80's pop, iconic 60's tracks, classic hip hop, The Smiths, Hendrix ... underground house and overground electronic dance by Detroit Grand Pubahs and Fatboy Slim, merging into Hall & Oattes, a dash of Sgt. Peppers - the guitar and then the song speeded up, Deee-lite ...

Flowing as one continuous, chaotic work of art, this mix is utterly magical. Vinyl crackles just add to the whole vibe and magic. The Avalanches skill to not only find and select samples to create new music and mix them all together is spell binding.

We veer back to Holiday by Madonna and some more music by The Avalanches, or samples that became the bedrock of songs on the album. A Different Feeling kicks in with even more euphoria than when it appears on the album. Michael Jackson's Billie Jean cuts like a knife, fleeting, then the groove comes back in. It hits the spot.

Closing with their own gloriously trippy Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life into a fading Holiday by Madonna spliced with Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, you don't want it to end. GIMIX is 45-minutes of genius.

GIMIX is famously difficult to tracklist. However, here are the major landmarks and samples.

Listen to GIMIX on Soundcloud

GIMIX - A mixtape by The Avalanches

1. The Avalanches - Since I Left You

2. Madonna - Holiday

3. Trini Lopez - A-me-ri-ca (Live at PJ's)

4. Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone

5. The Avalanches - Stay Another Season

6. The Avalanches - Two Hearts in 3/4 Time

7. De La Soul - A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"

8. Blowfly - Rapp Dirty

9. Richard Pryor - Richard Pryor Dialogue (from Car Wash)

10. Ol' Dirty Bastard feat. Kelis - Got Your Money

11. Roy Ayers - Love Will Bring Us Back Together

12. Kid Creole and the Coconuts - Stool Pigeon

13. The Button Down Brass feat. Ray Davies - Quiller

14. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Crosstown Traffic

15. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want to Have Fun

16. Thomas Bangalter - Turbo

17. Thee Maddkatt Courtship III - Excerpt: Welcome 2...

18. The Smiths - The Boy with the Thorn in His Side

19. Thomas Bangalter - Extra Dry

20. Men at Work - Down Under

21. De La Soul - Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) (Party Line Mix)

22. The Avalanches - Electricity

23. A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation

24. Daft Punk - Oh Yeah

25. Detroit Grand Pubahs - Sandwiches

26. Daryl Hall & John Oates - I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)

27. Fatboy Slim - Fucking in Heaven

28. Unknown - Unknown

29. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

30. Jurassic 5 - Jayou

31. Deee-Lite - Groove Is in the Heart

32. Gonzales - Real Motherfuckin' Music

33. The Avalanches - Little Journey

34. The Avalanches - Diners Only

35. The Avalanches - A Different Feeling

36. The Avalanches - Pablo's Cruise

37. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

38. Paperclip People - The Climax

39. Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)

40. Fela Kuti and Ginger Baker - Ye Ye De Smell

41. Electric Light Orchestra - Livin' Thing

42. Mike Curb Congregation - Mickey Mouse March (from DJ Riz's "Live from Brooklyn, Part 1")

43. Michael Wycoff - Looking Up to You (from DJ Riz's "Live from Brooklyn, Part 1")

44. Os Tres Morais - Freio Aerodinamico

45. Fern Kinney - Together We Are Beautiful

46. The Avalanches - Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life

47. Fleetwood Mac - Dreams

Since I Left You

 

Trust me #112
Since I Left You by The Avalanches

This wonderful song was released on 5th February 2001. While this makes it 25-years old, Since I Left You still sounds as supremely fresh, sunshine-y and vital as it did the first time I heard it. 

Although I can't remember where or when that was. Maybe it was on MTV, or maybe I tracked it down after reading a review, or hearing the song on the radio. I can't recall. All I remember is being transfixed by everything I heard and saw by The Avalanches - the singles, their sensational album, a live performance at The Arches, the GIMIX mixtape (blog coming soon on this) I bought that night and then a trip to Manchester to see them DJ. 

They were cool, their musical taste was exceptional, their ear for melodies was off the charts and the way they created their own songs from samples was like nothing I had ever heard before.

Samples .... you can't really talk about The Avalanches without discussing samples. Armed with Yamaha Promix 01 and Akai S2000 samplers and stacks of "dollar-bin" vinyl that nobody else wanted, Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann stitched together an estimated 3,500 samples into a seamless album.

Check this incredible YouTube documentary that attempts to track all of the samples. The fact is, even The Avalanches don't have a record of all the sample they used!

Since I Left You, the opening song and title track of their debut album, is not just a breath of fresh air. It's like inhaling pure oxygen and riding the rush. Nothing else matters for a glorious few minutes. 

Despite being built entirely from other people's voices, the song feels personal. The central hook is a pitched up slice of The Main Attraction's Everyday, capturing, creating something pure and euphoric.

Twenty five years since release, Since I Left You still hits me like warm rays of sunshine. This is pure escapism, merging from the sounds of a party the vocals are a burst of unadulterated joy and escapism.

Since I left you

I found the world so new

Timeless pop perfection. The Avalanches created a true work of art with this song and album. They took 16 years to release a follow up!

Since I Left You is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

45. Revolution by The Beatles

46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys

47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

48. American Trilogy by The Delgados

49. Loser by Beck 

50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy

51. Comedy by Shack

52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven

53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr

54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels

55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized

56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds

57. Cannonball by The Breeders

58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane

60. Lucky by Radiohead

61. Strange Currencies by R.E.M.

61. I Am The Cosmos by Chris Bell

62. Like A Ship (Without A Sail) by Pastor TL Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir

63. Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations

64. Made of Stone by The Stone Roses

65. Tonight In Belfast by Orbital, David Holmes, DJ Helen and Mike Garry

66. Anything by Adrianne Lenker

67. I Hold Something In My Hand by Bill Ryder-Jones

68. I Meant Every Word by Burnett Sisters

69. Dream Baby Dream by Suicide

70. Stove by The Lemonheads

71. Red Lady by Phil Cordell

72. Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb

73. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart by Taylor Swift

74. Turnin' My Heartbeat Up by The M.V.P.'s

75. Razzle Dazzle Rose by Camera Obscura

76. Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

77. The Rat by The Walkmen

78. My God Has A Telephone by Aaron Frazer

79. Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack

80. Sweet and Tender Romance by The McKinleys

81. Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros

82. 69 Police by David Holmes

83. Hey Lisa by David Holmes

84. I Am A Rock by Simon & Garfunkel

85. Kung Fu by Ash

86. Kids by MGMT

87. Slight Return by The Bluetones

88. Give Peace A Chance by John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

89. Cut Your Hair by Pavement

90. Race for the Prize by The Flaming Lips

91. Waitin' for a Superman by The Flaming Lips

92. Acquiesce by Oasis

93. This Is Music by The Verve

94. Lone Swordsman by Daniel Avery

95. Sparky's Dream by Teenage Fanclub

96. Common People by Pulp

97. Let Our Love Grow Higher by Eula Cooper

98. Regret by New Order

99. Keep On Keepin' On by Nolan Porter

100. Sit Down by James (Live at G-Mex) by James

101. Never Lose Your Sense Of Wonder by Yeti

102. Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over by The Charlatans

103. Life Is Sweet by The Chemical Brothers 

104. How Can I Tell You (To Love Me More) by Brooke Coombe

105-107. Wigan Casino - Three Before Eight - Time Will Pass You By by Tobi Legend, Long After Tonight Is All Over by Jimmy Radcliffe, I'm On My Way by Dean Parrish

108. Cobra by Geese

109. All I Have To Do Is Dream by The Everly Brothers

110. Vapour Trail by Ride

111. Teardrop by Massive Attack

Wildflower by The Avalanches

The Avalanches Since I Left You was released in late 2000, becoming a word of mouth sensation and being a real favourite at house parties and cool bars in Glasgow all the way through 2001.

I fell in love with the stunning production, the feel, melodies and flow of the album. They played The Arches, coming on stage to a great mix of Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone and Marvin's What's Goin' On with a slice of Madonna's Holiday added in for good measure - this kind of impeccable taste was displayed on a mix-tape that I bought (and it may be up in my loft somewhere) called GIMIX.

The mix was sublime; The Smiths are mixed in with the likes of Ol' Dirty Bastard, The Beatles, Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, Hendrix and Livin' Thing by the Electric Light Orchestra sounded euphoric when mixed in with house songs.

I loved the album and their taste so much that I travelled down to legendary Manchester club Sankey's Soap to see them do a DJ set. The place erupted and it was a hands in the air moment when they dropped in Queen's I Want To Break Free!

The Avalanches were hugely refreshing, the mix tape was the kind of mix that would be played a pre and post club parties when guests raided the cd/record collection of the host. The way they mixed styles and genres was sublime.

And the album Since I Left You was totally sublime. The title track was a slice of pure pop heaven, capable of brightening the darkest day. A Different Feeling and Two Hearts In 3/4 Time were similarly euphoric and feel good songs/creations.

Stereolab remix of Since I Left You

Elsewhere Frontier Psychiatrist was gloriously weird and clever, while Little Journey and the closing Extra Kings were gorgeous and soulful.

All kinds of rumours came out about the band - how many samples were on the album (estimated to be 3,500!), how long it took to make, how they made it, what they were going to do next.....

And then.....they did nothing.

Perhaps burnt out from the creation of a masterpiece, the reaction and the touring....The Avalanches disappeared.

(As I was writing this blog, this excellent feature interview on The Guardian came online)

And now, in 2016, The Avalanches with a current line-up of Robbie Chater, Tony Di Biasi and James Dela Cruz, are back.

Wildflower is the album that marks their return and the good news is that is brilliant. Listening to it has given me the same warm glow that Since I Left You gave me all those years ago.

Because I'm Me is the sound of summer; mixing pop, soul, funk, hip hop, disco and a beautiful sample of a boy talking and singing. The Avalanches tricks are out in force, a particular favourite of mine is when it sounds like they are changing the channel on a radio using an old dial and they just cut stuff out and introduce something that has been bubbling in the background. They pull this off with ease if you listen from 2 minutes to 2 minutes 20. Then the hip hop rap (by Camp Lo) comes back in to just lift it again. In a burst of just over 4-minutes, it's like The Avalanches have never been away.

Comeback single Frankie Sinatra makes you wonder just what The Avalanches have been smoking while they have been away. Answer - probably a lot! There is all kinds of stuff going on from oompah to hip hop with just about everything in between.

Subways is total genius and if I used the word sublime again here, I'll probably use it another half dozen times, but look up The Avalanches in the dictionary and that is the word that will be there! A child choir is cut in with uplifting strings, disco and a euphoric vocal.

Album artwork - as colourful as the music on it

The album is full of guests; Danny Brown, Biz Markie, Camp Lo, Jonathan Donahue, Toro Y Moi, David Berman and Jennifer Herrera.

Chaz Bundrick of Toro Y Moi fits in effortlessly on the beautiful happy vibe that is If I Was A Folkstar. His vocals are dreamy and woven into yet another happy sunshine song that The Avalanches have that special knack of creating.

I had the pleasure of catching Mercury Rev live recently and singer Jonathan Donahue was a delight to watch and listen to. His taste for psychedelia is actively encouraged by The Avalanches, Colours sounds like it has been dipped in the summer of love in1967 and brought back to 2016 via a 1970's New York disco club.

The 21 track album has main songs and lots of playful songs/instrumentals linking them, making it all seem like one effortless piece of work. Zap! is a particular favourite of mine; a dreamy kid talking over strings with The Avalanches tuning in via different radio dials in the background

The only bad part of flying is having to come back down

The Noisy Eater features Biz Markie and is a playful Gorillaz style, stoned take that samples kids singing The Beatles Come Together.

When you get the album and look at the tracklisting and see a song called Harmony then it is hard not to skip to it to see what The Avalanches have produced. It is beautiful - of course. The Avalanches cut in and out of various samples and styles but keep bringing it back to the harmony.

Live A Lifetime Love cuts something that sounds like The Beach Boys with hip hop and is proof that The Avalanches can pack more creativity into 2 minutes and 31 seconds than some bands do across a whole album.

The album as a lovely warm feeling throughout, dreamy, euphoric, just a good feeling. Park Music, Living' Underwater (Is Something' Wild), The Wozard of Iz and Over The Turnstiles all combine to glorious effect. Sublime!

Sunshine kicks in like a burst of.....sunshine. All warm rays and Avalanches style effects and sounds.

Kaleidoscopic Lovers sounds like you are looking into a Kaleidoscope and as you turn it round you hear all kinds of sounds to match the colours. There is a lot going on and then Jonathan Donahue comes in to treat us to yet more lysergic majestic wonder.

The rock n roll and life-liven voice of Jennifer Herrema from Royal Trux sounds brilliant, almost playground rhyme like on Stepkids.

The album ends with Saturday Night Inside Out containing beats, handclaps, brilliant samples and that warm feeling that lasts from start to finish.

Wildflower is an incredible album, my favourite of the year so far.