The Avalanches are an electronic music group formed in Melbourne, Australia, currently comprising two members, Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi. As of right now, they only have three albums: Since I Left You (2000), Wildflower (2016), and We Will Always Love You (2020); however, of the three albums, Since I Left You is the one with the most influence and will be the main focus of this article. Since I Left You redefined Electronic and Hip-Hop music, inspired many prominent artists, and is just generally a really good album. Among its achievements, one thing this album has that many people overlook is its significance in the grand scheme of things. However, it is just as important, and that is being a landmark album to the “Plunderphonics” genre.
“Plunderphonics”? Okay, you’re just making things up now. What even is it? Pirate music? Music you’d play while plundering a boarded ship?
Well, it kind of is pirate music… but it’s not the swashbuckling kind, but instead the digital kind.
You see, plunderphonics utilizes sampling, a musical technique where snippets of various audio recordings are taken and implemented into music. What separates plunderphonics from sampling is that plunderphonics are more akin to sound collages than just taking one or two audio snippets. Most, if not all, parts of a plunderphonics track were sampled from other audio recordings, everything from the main melody to the drums and beat.
“Plunderphonics” as a term originated from a 1985 essay by John Oswald called Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative. He would define it as a practice that tackles notions of originality and identity. As broad as it sounds, there are a few common themes present in it, such as sampling uncommon recordings that you wouldn’t think belong in MUSIC. Those uncommon samples include educational films, news reports, or radio shows. An example of this is Oswald’s track called Power (1975), where he would combine a Led Zeppelin instrumental and a sermon from a southern US evangelist.
Due to the genre being heavily based on sampling, a lot of tracks would often get into a lot of legal troubles because of the audio recordings the artists would sample not getting properly cleared, though some artists are claiming it falls under the fair use doctrine. Other artists are even using plunderphonics as a protest against strict copyright laws.
With all that being said, a small band in Australia was about to make a very big splash in the genre. Formerly known as Alarm 115, however, after one of their members got deported, they broke up and went through a bunch of name changes that I’m not sure I’m really able to tell you (even if I could, I probably won’t), eventually landing on The Avalanches. They got their rise releasing tracks under various record labels and even got support slots for notable talents on tour, such as Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and Beck. From 1998 to 2000, they worked on their debut album, Pablo’s Cruise, a working title at the time, and finally finished mixing it in Sing Song Studios in Melbourne in February 2000. They planned to release it that year; however, it had been delayed due to uncleared samples and a lack of overseas interest. In July, they released a preview mixtape and finally landed on the final name of the soon-to-be-released album: Since I Left You, and later that year, they released the full thing on a boat cruise.
Since I Left You is approximately an hour long and comprises 18 tracks, each one packed to the brim with samples; in fact, some claim it features anywhere from 900 to upwards of 3,500 samples throughout the entire album. The band members would sift through records for hours, and sometimes they even had to record directly from the radio just to sample it. The entire album was born out of the band’s limitations, resulting in the record flourishing in creativity. It’s not much of a surprise to see this album have such influence and accolades.
This album’s acclaim is far and wide; it was nominated for nine awards in the ARIA Music Awards of 2001, of which it won four awards, and they were: Breakthrough Artist Album, Best Dance Release, Producer of the Year, and Breakthrough Artist Single for Frontier Psychiatrist. It doesn’t just stop at awards; it ended up on a bunch of publications’ top albums list of the year, and in some cases, of all time, it was placed top 3 in Pitchfork’s top twenty albums of 2001 and 10 in their top 200 albums of the 2000s, stating that it was “a masterpiece of mood-setting”, The Daily Telegraph placed it in 6 for the 50 most influential Australian albums ever. Most importantly for this article, however, is its influence on plunderphonics. After the release and success of this album, people took the art of plunderphonics a lot more seriously, and inspired people to explore the genre as a legitimate art form, as well as establishing a benchmark for what the genre can accomplish.
If people say that “nothing is original anymore” then “Since I Left You” embodies that in the best way. This album is a testament to The Avalanche’s creative force under the weight of their restrictions and has wildly succeeded, influencing the very genre it falls under. They were able to make a unique experience ONLY using other recordings. They were able to use other people’s unique experiences and make something wholly new, and at the end of the day, isn’t that the whole point of life?
