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Photo by Eric Pamies
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Photo by Eric Pamies
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Photo by Eric Pamies
The Avalanches have been surrounded by an air of mystery for well over 10 years. After the release of their masterpiece debut album, Since I Left You, in 2000, they left the world hanging, but nothing was to follow. The late announcement of their addition to the Primavera Sound lineup came as a shock to most people and left fans with a sensation of curiosity about what the Australian musicians would do, considering, as they posted on their facebook page, that Primavera was their first sound check in 15 years.
Playing the Ray-Ban stage ensured there was more than enough space for the massive crowd that gathered to see what the Avalanches would offer up. Sounds of ‘Tonight’ resonating across the amphitheatre suggested they might roll through their one and only album, however, the familiar piano intro to Nina Simone's version of ‘Sinner Man’ was a sign that we were about to witness their legendary sampling skills live. Improving on perfection seems to be what the Avalanches do best, taking inspiration from everything from films to old gospel songs and using them to make music to get you moving.
Based on the quality of music at the start of the set, a range of new material would have been more than sufficient, old familiar tunes wouldn’t be necessary to keep fans engaged. The set took another unexpected turn, however, when the famous words sampled from the 1981 black comedy, Polyester, “Is Dexter ill today? Mr Kirt, Dexter's in school? I'm afraid he's not, Miss Fishpaw,” sounded from the speakers. That horse neigh could only mean one thing—they blasted into a album perfect version of ‘Frontier Psychiatrist’, making that 15-year wait seem like nothing at all.
An incredible atmosphere is an understatement, the funk beats of ‘Close to me’ kept everyone moving, by the time the remix of ‘Please don't let me be misunderstood’ came on, it’s hard to think that the crowd could have been more satisfied by the hour-long set, which seemed to be over in a flash.
On June 2nd, The Avalanches announced the release of their second album, Wildflower, which will be out on July 8th.