With The Avalanches recent (slightly) renewed social media presence, and their announcement of their first concert in 15 years, we decided to have a look back at the enigma that is The Avalanches.

Since their debut effort, Since I Left You, released 16 years ago, the group have become a staple in Australian music – arguably one of our best. They caught our attention with their approximately 3,500 vinyl samples appearing throughout the tracks, a rare style which had not been presented into an accessible platform in the past. The launch for the album took place on a boat cruise party aboard the Victoria Star in Melbourne, through Port Philip, garnering huge media attention from both Australian and international outlets. The album resultantly won them six Australian Dance Music Awards.

From there, the band embarked on their first ever UK tour, playing DJ sets in revered clubs Fabric and The Social.

So, why does it matter now that the group have updated their social media and announced three festival shows?

The Avalanches only album is, as I previously mentioned, arguably one of the best in Australian history. Since its release, their fans have been continuously teased and tormented with rumours of collaborations (with Ariel Pink and rapper Danny Brown), yet no musical output apart from a few remixes from the band, including a very nice contribution to the Hunters & Collectors remix tribute album.

As well as this, the band haven’t played a live show for a very.long.time. While a few members may have appeared for the odd DJ set, like the controversial 2011 Vivid show which was not critically well-received, they have not appeared as a band for a full-length show in 15 years.

We’re hoping, if there is one, that the new album does resemble Since I Left You – sample-heavy, danceable, and timeless. While a fairly big ask, it’s not out of the question with statements coming from Modular Recordings that explain “it’s sounding like everything we dared not hope for, and so much more. They’ve made the record of their lives basically.” Until then however, we’re left to keep putting their first album on repeat.