The Avalanches - 2000 - Since I Left You (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 2021)

The Avalanches - 2000 - Since I Left You (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 2021) @320

20 years is an eternity in pop culture, and perhaps even more so in electronic music. Just think of how far we've come in terms of production technology, how many sub-genres and trends have come and gone. Yet The Avalanches' 2000 album,Since I Left You, is still considered a supernatural feat of sampling. The title track alone uses records from at least three continents spread across three different decades. Armed with a Yamaha ProMix 01, an Akai S2000 and crates of records, four Australian schoolmates attempted one of the most laborious feats in recent music history, chopping up the most samples ever used on a record (around 3000). They forged a blend of hip-hop, dance, pop, psychedelia and soul, reaping the fruits of their labor with a masterwork that now finds itself near the top of many "best albums of all time" lists.

For this 20th anniversary edition, The Avalanches have invited contemporaries and younger producers—like Sinkane, the late MF DOOM, Leon Vynehall and the aforementioned Prince Paul—to remix the LP. The original album is so perfect to me that I was struggling to imagine these remixes as anything other than blasphemy. But most of the reworks, from the likes of Leon Vynehall and Carl Craig, feel like love letters to the original material. Stereolab's version "Since I Left You" is a prime example, adding a dreamy gloss that combines the two acts' best qualities. 

There are almost as many remixes as there are tracks on the original, making for a long and (mostly) rewarding listen. "Radio"—with its warbling keys and driving groove—already felt like a Sinkane song, and his funky interpretation takes it to new heights. Prince Paul's soulful take on "Since I Left You" packs more of a percussive punch and adds layers of suspense. Along with Edan's version of "Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life," these versions indicate The Avalanches could have been legendary even if they just focused on making hip-hop beats. MF Doom's "Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life" remix probably shouldn't have been on here, though. It's lethargic and sounds unfinished.

From the hushed sensuality of "Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life" to the sun-soaked "Extra Kings," Since I Left You feels like a broken radio with a mind of its own. The remixers were brave enough to step into the record's large shadow and illuminate it with some inspired reinterpretations. Still, the original's charm comes from its almost divine randomness, a spontaneity that can't be repeated or remade. 20 years later, this immortal record still shines brightly enough to remain the jewel in the crown of the plunderphonics era. This perfect storm of borderless sampling bottles the spontaneity and vim of youth and captures timeless feelings, making the record unbeholden to eras or trends. (Resident Adviser)

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