November 27, 2000 by A.S. Van Dorston

Plunderphonics crosses over to the dance-pop mainstream with this Melbourne group.

It’s been surprising that sampling innovator DJ Shadow has not inspired more imitators than he has. Aside from turntablist/mixologist Kid Koala’s Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, there hasn’t been a full album’s worth of seamless audio collage, until The Avalanches’ Since I Left You. Essentially a danceable party album, it’s impossible not to enjoy. The idea behind The Avalanches is so obvious, it’s amazing no one else had thought of it sooner. While DJ Shadow’s source material is rendered completely unidentifiable, The Avalanches employ plunderphonics, a variation of tape sound collage that goes back to the 60’s avant-garde, and the mainstream were introduced to it via The Beatles’ “Revolution 9” in 1968. Negativland got some attention in the 80s with Escape From Noise (1987) and Helter Stupid (1989).

Since I Left You is closer to the funky sounds of Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique (1989) and early De La Soul in that many of the samples are pretty obvious hit singles from the past, including Madonna’s “Holiday,” Kid Creole & The Coconuts’ “Stool Pigeon” and even Prince Paul’s “More Than U Know” with De La Soul. The boundaries between songs are blurred as elements from the previous song carry into the next, united by an insistent 4/4 disco/house beat. It’s not really until the smoky “Tonight” that the pace changes significantly and more diverse elements of jazz and Exotica are introduced in the woozy number, based on a sample from Nancy Wilson’s 1964 performance of the Johnny Mercer song, “Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life.” The piano gives the feeling of sea-sickness as the record is sampled at varied speeds. “Frontier Psychiatrist” is the most memorable track, and most similar to Kid Koala, as it cleverly sets spoken-words to a rhythm, giving the impression that they’re rapping to horns and choruses — “What does it mean?/That boy needs therapy.”

Whether this is a a minor artistic innovation or a masterpiece, time will tell, but no question it’s major fun. This is going to be absorbed by the mainstream in a big way and most likely inspire some imitators.