Pitchfork

Almost two years since they broke out of their Australian homeland, and more than a year since they first hit the UK, the sample-crazy disco-tech quintet the Avalanches are ready to release their debut album, Since I Left You, on American shores. The domestic version is reported to be identical to the UK edition, with samples on all 18 tracks cleared and fully intact. (The guys have said the album is composed of "thousands of samples," but only about 30 had to be officially licensed). It's slated for release on November 6th through London/Sire.

The band is also planning to issue their third UK-only EP from the album, for the song "Electricity," in England on December 3rd. The EP, which is being released by XL, will come in both CD and double vinyl formats, though their tracklists differ greatly. Both feature the album version of "Electricity," as well as remixes of the song by Doctor Rocket and Ernest St. Laurent. But whereas the disc will feature an "original version" of the song and the video for the wildly popular "Frontier Psychiatrist," the vinyl opts instead for an additional remix of "Electricity" by DJ Sneak and an alternate version of the track subtitled "Harvey's Nightclub Re-Edit." Several other EPs, singles and records have been released in the UK and Australia, all containing rare music by the band.

In the meantime, the Avalanches are preparing to make their way through England for a promotional DJ tour which ends in mid-November. After that, they'll take it to select, as-yet-undisclosed locations in the U.S. to do the same. And, according to a recent story in Billboard, they'll be back over here for a full-scale live tour in 2002. Should be quite a show, as co-founder Darren Seltmann has broken his leg not once, but twice this year, while jumping off stage monitors.