The Avalanches are an interesting Melbourne act who released their debut album ‘Since I Left You’ way back in 2000. What’s so interesting about them is that this album was put together from around 3,500 samples taken from old vinyl records. What you get is a very unusual listening experience. A fluid album in which the tracks blend together seamlessly with a surrealist edge and the feeling that… “I’m sure I’ve heard that before somewhere”.

Radio – The Avalanches

Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life – The Avalanches

The follow up album has taken a long time with some debate and confusion as to whether it’ll be released at all. The Avalances MySpace page’s headline reads ‘clearing samples’ which I’m guessing means they have to check the copyright of all the samples they’re using. Anyway, I’ll be sure to post up here when it is finally available. In the mean time ‘Since I Left You’ is definitely worth checking out.

imagineIAM is from Louisiana and is one of the most interesting artists I’ve come across (thanks Scott) He’s currently working with Hand On The Plow and released his debut single in January which is available on iTunes. 

imagineIAM’s style mixes unusual vocals and percussive samples into an intricate and precise rhythm. There’s a lot of passion thrown into the mix and I’m expecting to see more from this artist.

 

Guardians Of The Patty Cake Makers – imagineIAM

Here’s his interpretation of his sound…
“My music enters this dimension pretty much smack-dab in the the middle of all music ’styles’, since it is so exact in its presence, and it simply comes to me just as definite as the sun simply shines… I throw in some extras to make it more sassy, crunk, ridiculous, holy’n’profane, sacred and shut up… with ninja blood sparkling deep electric it dares and blooms forth beyond the known edge creating a new world celebration… unconquerablly creative and classy…”

Savage Sparrow is a Melbourne based sample artist with a style similar to that of The Avalanches. At the time of writing, there are three full songs on the myspace as well as one other interesting short piece called “The Bird Song” I’ve heard that there may be a few more songs on the way, one possibly featuring a cello. Dave Mahler, the creator of Savage Sparrow also has a blog at blogspot featuring some other interesting items such as drawings and videos. 
http://www.myspace.com/thesavagesparrow
http://savagesparrow.blogspot.com