RW: October Avalanche – At Last Alone

Welcome to a special Thursday edition of Remix Wednesday. I wanted yesterday to be special all by itself.

So last month before I’d even started thinking about doing this October Avalanche series, I posted a remix of “Since I Left You” (link). This is what inspired me to do this entire series.

So here we are, talking about the final EP the band put out, At Last Alone. Nine tracks, 5 remixes, 4 rare/unreleased.

I’m only going to highlight my favorites today, but true fans will want the entire EP.

2.A Different Feeling (Ernest St. Laurent Remix) (removed 2/13/09)
A much softer version, of the song. This is my favorite way to enjoy this song, and it’s more polished feel comes across nicely, in a way that does not seem to betray the original.

4. Electricity (Dr. Rockit’s Dirty Kiss) (removed 2/13/09)
My favorite remix of Electricity, it reimagines the song in an entirely different way. The remix brings new light to some of the more obtuse sounds hidden in the song, as well as introducing some really cool new sounds. I prefer the original version, but this one is really cool to listen to also.

5. Thank You Caroline (Andy Votel Remix) (removed 2/13/09)
Thank You Caroline is one of the rarer tracks by the Avalanches, (anyone missing the original version can email me) but all the while still one of the best. Thank You Caroline is an original piece of music by The Avalanches, and it blows my mind in it’s simplicity. This remix pays excellent tribute to the late great song, until about halfway where it starts to do it’s own thing.

*~*

Only one week left! I’ll be going over some stuff where The Avalanches did remixes for other bands. It’s going to be great, so come back next week on our usual time (Wednesday).

Until then, don’t get caught in an Avalanche.

RW: October Avalanche – Since I Left You (Part 2)

Last week I wrote about the debut album from The Avalanches, “Since I Left You”.

This post is just a continuation of where I stopped. So it’s going to feel shorter. So to make up for it, I’m doing 4 songs instead of three.

On a personal note, my Vinyl copy of this album arrived last week. It has a different version of “Frontier Psychiatrist”. Trust me, the version I’ll be uploading is the superior version. If anyone is truly interested, I can record the vinyl to get that different version. (email: demands [at] codybrom.com)

10. Electricity (removed 2/13/09)
This is one of the best tracks of the album right here. It’s so perfectly elegant. It rolls up multiple styles in one big burrito of musical love. The sounds are so different that this song just feels out of place compared to other tracks on the album. The sounds are perfect and the flow is great. Definitely a great candidate for any great study-rock playlist.

13. Frontier Psychiatrist (removed 2/13/09)
Great song, or Greatest song? Opening with some crazy lines from a film, the drums immediately kick in setting a nice beat behind a very dramatic setting. The haunting choir and horns suck you in instantly. The comedy styling of Wayne & Shuster get turned into a chilling vocalization of a nightmare visit to the psychiatrist. Most of the song makes zero sense, but the sound of it all is breathtaking. At the halfway point, the drums with the delay effects sound brilliant, and then we return to the lyrics. “Ranagazoo let’s have a tune!”. The end is quite odd, “some birds are funny when they talk”. This is my favorite song on the album and embodies everything The Avalanches are.

16. Little Journey (removed 2/13/09)
This really is just a warm-up track, but it’s nice and sweet and enjoyable, and sets up one of the best songs on the album.

17. Live At Dominoes (removed 2/13/09)
Second to last track, and it’s a wonderful infusion of retro sound and electronic. I especially enjoy the end when things begin to shift more to a sound full of strings. This is just a wonderful mash of samples and is a fun little romp.

There it is. A wonderful album. If you want it? GO BUY IT! It’s worth every penny. Maybe even a few more than that. I bought my vinyl copy from Tower.com, but they also sell that album as a compact disc.

Alright friends, just two weeks left. Next week is a really cool EP, “At Last Alone”. Be sure to tune in, pretty much all those mp3′s are impossible to find.

Enjoy the sweet avalanche. Ω

RW: October Avalanche – Since I Left You (Part 1)

Last week I wrote about the debut EP from The Avalanches, and quite frankly that post is a little out of place with the rest of the month’s theme. It is original content. This week and next week I’ll be analyzing their only album, “Since I Left You”.

The first key note to this album is to make sure that you will hear it in a gapless manner. So if you get it into iTunes, check that box, or if you have a physical copy just hit play. The tracks blend right into one another with little to no actual indication that it had changed.

This is an amazing album with more than 3,500 vinyl samples used. This truly is the definition of remixing taken at a very literal level.

The album starts strong with the sweet melody of Jeanne Solo singing a portion of her song, “Everyday”. The entire ambiance of the background does add to the song and makes it a very lively and enjoyable experience.

1. Since I Left You (removed 2/13/09)

By the time  we work our way to track seven, the group is pretty well established itself. In this track the band begins to truly explore the sounds, mixing in some more obscure vocals. This is one of the more memorable tracks for me at least, and it begins to set the stage for later songs like “Diners Only”, and “A Different Feeling”

7. Close To You (removed 2/13/09)

My favorite track of the first half of the album. Some of the broadest ranges of sound, very interesting to listen to. High energy, and tons of fun.  I love the last part of the song when the beat kicks up, and the Violin comes in. It’s one of the best parts of the album. It ends leading into another great track, “Electricity”. I’ll talk more about that song next week.

9. A Different Feeling (removed 2/13/09)

I hope you’re really enjoying this series as much as I am. I ordered the album on Vinyl last week, and I am very eagerly anticipating it’s arrival! So don’t forget, that you need to buy the albums of your favorite artists to SUPPORT THEM!

Stay tuned the rest of the month for more awesome stuff about The Avalanches, “the worlds greatest remix band“.

I hope you fall into an avalanche of awesome tunes. Ω

RW: October Avalanche – “El Producto”

I’ve been hyping this for a few weeks now, and I’m proud to finally stand and deliver on my promise.

The Avalanches are just one of those groups that are hard to explain. I’m having a hard time doing just that right now. But I’m gonna try to explain them anyways. They have two different stages of their career. (1995-1998) The Punk Rap era, and (1999-Now) The Remixer era. I can’t say I’m much of a fan of their early stuff, but because it truly is unlike the other artists in the genre it is still intresting.

So this week I’m going to start from the begining and get through the early years in one big swoop.

They have an EP called El Producto from 1997 and I must say that it is almost impossible to track down. I spent a few weeks scouring message boards, and peer to peer networks to get most of my tracks for this post.

Well I’m pleased to say that I have the entire ep availible for download this week.

1. Untitled (Intro) (removed 2/13/09)
2. Rolling High (removed 2/13/09)
3. Rap Fever (removed 2/13/09)
4. Rock City (removed 2/13/09)
5. Under Inspection (removed 2/13/09)
6. Run DNA (removed 2/13/09)
7. Untitled (Outro) (removed 2/13/09)
or
Download the entire EP (Zipped)(removed 2/13/09)

Like I said earlier, this isn’t necessarily my favorite, but there is some stuff in here that begins to kind of explain the style of The Avalanches, and some of the stuff you here now, will definitley be incorporated into later recordings. Besides, this is also the holy grail of hard to find Avalanches recordings, and any true fan must have this in their collection.

So we’ve got a lot more cool stuff coming in the coming weeks. I’m excited to finally do this, but don’t worry we will be back to our regular remixing in November. Just to give you an idea of what I’ll be writing about, here’s the road map for the month:

• OCT 01 – “El Producto” (Their 1st EP)
• OCT 08 – “Since I Left You” (Their LP)  – Part 1
• OCT 15 – “Since I Left You”  – Part 2
• OCT 22 – “At Last Alone” (Their Last EP)
• OCT 29 – (2001 – Present) & Remixes

I hope you don’t get caught in a real avalanche. Ω