The Avalanches

Crafting free-flowing sonic tapestries from a deep well of obscure samples, The Avalanches have elevated the art of crate-digging to new levels of lush, psychedelic majesty. Formed in Melbourne in 1997 from the ashes of teen punk bands, the project pivoted to DIY DJ culture and threaded together around a thousand samples for their 2000 debut, Since I Left You. The album proved so acclaimed and impactful that the evolving group—eventually crystallized into a core of cofounders Tony Di Blasi and Robbie Chater—spent more than a decade tinkering before releasing new music. That finally arrived in the form of 2016’s Wildflower, which continued to glide across eras via the itchy electro-swing of “Frankie Sinatra” and silky 1960s soul of “Because I’m Me.” For 2020’s We Will Always Love You, The Avalanches tapped prominent guests rather than vocal samples, yielding collaborations with Blood Orange, Leon Bridges, Karen O, and Kurt Vile that only enhanced the album’s feel-good cosmic overtures.