User:MyOwnBadSelf/The Avalanches
The Avalanches are a gang of musical criminals who have been on the run from the law for the past fifteen years. Ever since they started to steal recordings from other artists, and loop it repeatedly to create new music, the copyright squad have been after them.
History[edit | edit source]
1997-2000: From discovery to success[edit | edit source]
The Avalanches chose their name because they were surf rock fans, and wanted a name associated with snow so that they could shake off their old associations. In any case, the band were listening to DJ Shadow's Endtroducing... and discovered that he had used samples for other songs to create the album. Subsequently, the band decided to create their own album in the same way, which they termed 'plunderphonics'. Since I Left You was released in 2000, named as they would be leaving, as sampling is a crime. Just look what happened to Vanilla Ice.
2000-2008: Running into the law[edit | edit source]
Despite Since I Left You selling many copies worldwide, the authorities were not happy. Realising that the Avalanches had stolen their sounds from a variety of sources, not just music, but also film and TV, they realised that this was against copyright laws, and started to chase them across the world.
During this time, they acquired many influences for the sound, such as mariachi, African drums, and Brazilian flute orchestra. All of which were incorporated into their secret next effort.