Classic Albums – The Avalanches Since I Left You

Breaking Down The Avalanches Since I Left You: A Track-by-Track Guide

Since I Left You came out in 2000 and it still sounds like nothing else. The Melbourne duo — Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann — built the entire album from samples. Not a few samples. Thousands of them, stitched together so carefully that the joins disappear and what you’re left with feels like one continuous, sun-drenched dream. It’s one of the great listening experiences in modern music, and it absolutely rewards going track by track.

We’ve put together a table of the key samples used in each track, followed by a breakdown of what makes each one tick.

The Avalanches Since I Left You

Track 1: “Since I Left You”

The title track opens the album with a rush of warmth — breezy, euphoric and instantly transporting. It’s one of those rare opening tracks that tells you exactly what kind of record you’re dealing with in the first thirty seconds.

Key Samples:

• “Everyday” by The Main Attraction (1967): The vocal hook that gives the track its heart.
• “Car Wash” by Rose Royce (1976): Sampled from 0:00 to 0:04, providing the instantly recognisable opening hook.
• “Anema E Core” by Tony Mottola and His Orchestra (1962): Sampled from 0:04 to 0:09, adding an Italian warmth to the opening moments.
• “The Sky’s the Limit” by The Duprees (1968): Sampled from 0:13 to 0:40, contributing lush orchestration that sets the album’s mood perfectly.

Track 2: “Stay Another Season”

The mood stays high here — sunny, danceable and hard to resist. It carries the energy of the opener forward without repeating it.

Key Samples:

• “Out Here on My Own” by Lamont Dozier (1973): Sampled from 0:13 to 0:41, 0:51 to 2:24, and 2:43 to the end — the soulful backbone of the whole track.
• “With a Little Help” by Tony Mottola (1968): Sampled from 0:11 to 0:23, adding a nostalgic warmth.
• “Everyday” by The Main Attraction (1968): Sampled from 0:01 to 0:47 and 1:01 to 1:15, threading the album’s opening theme through into track two.

Track 3: “Radio”

This is where the album starts showing its playful side. Radio feels like channel-surfing through a very good radio station from another dimension — comedy snippets, funk grooves and a general sense of joyful chaos.

Key Samples:

• “In Person Comedy Performance” by Wayne and Shuster (1959): Sampled from 0:03 to 0:45, providing the humorous dialogue that gives the track its personality.
• “I Was a TV Addict” by Wayne and Shuster (1959): Sampled from 0:03 to 0:45, adding another layer of witty banter.
• “Fat City Strut” by Mandrill (1973): Sampled from 0:09 and throughout — the funky engine room underneath all the comedy.

Track 4: “Two Hearts in 3/4 Time”

A waltz rhythm, dreamy melodies and a genuinely romantic atmosphere. The Avalanches take a sharp left turn here and it completely works — like stumbling into a ballroom you didn’t know was there.

Key Samples:

• “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” Original Broadway Cast (1961): Sampled “Rosemary” from 0:00 to 0:05, adding theatrical colour.
• “Cabaret” (1972): Sampled “Money, Money” from 0:02 to 0:09, bringing a cabaret grandeur to the opening.
• “Sweet Beginnings” by Marlena Shaw (1977): Sampled “Yu-Ma” from 0:31 to the end — the soulful heart of the track.

Track 5: “A Different Feeling”

The title is accurate. A Different Feeling is more electronic and abstract than what’s come before — a sign that the album isn’t going to stay in one lane for long.

Key Samples:

• “More Moondog” (1956): Sampled “Tugboat Tocatta” from 0:03 to 0:19 — avant-garde percussion that edges the track toward something stranger.
• “Love in C minor” by Cerrone (1977): Sampled from 0:11 and throughout, bringing in the disco warmth that keeps the track from drifting too far.
• “The Secret Tapes of Dr. Eich” by Paperclip People (1996): Sampled “Slam Dance” from 0:18 and throughout — Detroit techno influence creeping in from the left.

Track 6: “Electricity”

Electricity lives up to its name. There’s a charge to this track that lifts the energy of the album’s mid-section just when you need it.

Key Samples:

• “Blowfly’s Party” by Blowfly (1980): Sampled “Rapp Dirty” from 0:38 to 1:11 — irreverent and fun, setting a playful tone.
• “Homework” by Daft Punk (1996): Sampled “Da Funk” from 1:16 to 1:24 — a nod to French house that makes perfect sense in context.

Track 7: “Tonight”

The album takes a breath here. Tonight is ambient and dreamlike — it floats rather than drives, and after the energy of Electricity, that feels exactly right.

Key Samples:

• “Today, Tomorrow, Forever” by Nancy Wilson (1964): Sampled “Today May Have to Last Me All My Life” from 0:14 and throughout — her voice is the emotional centre of the track.
• “Mambo!” by Yma Sumac (1954): Sampled “Gopher” from 1:38 to 1:57 — exotic and otherworldly, like something heard drifting from a party on the other side of the island.

Track 8: “Pablo’s Cruise”

A short interlude that feels like being on a boat — which is apparently exactly what the Avalanches intended. Unhurried, warm and slightly surreal.

Key Samples:

• “More Moondog” (1956): Sampled “Tugboat Tocatta” from 0:03 to 0:19 — the nautical connection feels entirely deliberate.
• “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles (1999): Sampled “Eleanor Rigby (Film Version)” from 0:47 to the end — a beautiful, melancholic surprise that arrives just as the track is settling in.

Track 9: “Frontier Psychiatrist”

The album’s most recognisable moment and one of the strangest singles ever released by anyone. That boy needs therapy. Frontier Psychiatrist is a glorious mess of comedy dialogue, orchestral stabs and an Osmonds sample that you’d never see coming — and it absolutely works.

Key Samples:

• “In Person Comedy Performance” by Wayne and Shuster (1959): The source of most of the memorable dialogue scattered throughout the track.
• “A Shakesperean Baseball Game” by Wayne and Shuster (1959): Sampled at 1:52, adding another layer of absurdity.
• “The Plan” by The Osmonds (1973): Sampled “Let Me In” from 0:06 and throughout — the unlikely musical engine driving the whole thing forward.

Track 10: “Etoh”

A gentler moment after the madness of Frontier Psychiatrist. Etoh is mellow and contemplative — a chance to settle back into the album’s warmer side.

Key Samples:

• “Western Union – Sound of Love” by The Five Americans (1967): Sampled “Western Union” from 0:01 and throughout — nostalgic and unhurried.

Track 11: “Summer Crane”

Summer Crane blends the tropical warmth of the album’s earlier tracks with something more electronic underneath — the two sides of the record in one place.

Key Samples:

• “Western Union – Sound of Love” by The Five Americans (1967): The same source as Etoh, used differently — lighter and more open here.

Track 12: “Little Journey”

Exactly what the title suggests — a small, beautiful detour. Dreamy and nostalgic, Little Journey is one of the album’s quieter moments and one of its most affecting.

Key Samples:

• “The Papas & The Mamas” by The Mamas & The Papas (1968): Sampled “Midnight Voyage” from 0:11 to 0:39 — a fragment of late-60s California warmth that fits the album’s atmosphere perfectly.

Track 13: “Live at Dominoes”

The energy picks back up. Live at Dominoes has a disco pulse to it — danceable and fun, like the party is starting again just when you thought it was winding down.

Key Samples:

• “Love for Sale” by Boney M. (1977): Sampled “Ma Baker” from 0:06 and throughout — that driving Eurodisco rhythm underneath everything.

Track 14: “Extra Kings”

Eclectic and energetic — Extra Kings keeps the album moving in its final stretch without losing the warmth that’s been there from the start.

Key Samples:

• “Patterns in Sound” by Enoch Light (1966): Sampled “Theme from the Sand Pebbles” from 0:49 to 0:59 — a brief orchestral flourish that adds a cinematic quality.

Track 15: “Since I Left You (Reprise)”

The album ends where it began. The reprise brings back the title track’s warmth and sense of movement — not so much a conclusion as a reminder that the journey is circular. You could press play again immediately and it would make complete sense.

Key Samples:

• “Car Wash” by Rose Royce (1976): Sampled from 0:00 to 0:04 — the same hook that opened the album, bringing everything full circle.

Final Thoughts

Since I Left You is the kind of album that’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t heard it. It’s joyful without being shallow, complex without being cold, and it works just as well as background music at a party as it does on headphones at 2am. The Avalanches pulled off something genuinely rare — a sample-based record that sounds completely alive and completely its own.

If you’ve never listened front to back in one sitting, block out an hour and do it properly. It’s worth it.

FAQ’s

What is The Avalanches Since I Left You known for?

Since I Left You is known for being one of the most ambitious and successful sample-based albums ever made. The Avalanches used thousands of individual samples — sourced from vintage records, film dialogue, comedy sketches and more — and stitched them together so seamlessly that the album flows like a single unbroken piece of music. It’s widely considered a landmark in electronic and sample-based production.

How many tracks are there on the album, and what does it sound like?

There are 15 tracks. The overall sound moves between euphoric and dreamy — a mix of electronic music, disco, soul, pop, world music and film dialogue, all filtered through the Avalanches’ warm, sun-drenched aesthetic. It’s been described as the sonic equivalent of a perfect summer day, which sounds like a cliché until you actually listen to it.

What are some of the notable samples used on the album?

Some of the most recognisable sources include “Car Wash” by Rose Royce, which opens and closes the album, vocal samples from The Main Attraction’s “Everyday,” comedy dialogue from Wayne and Shuster’s recordings, and Daft Punk’s “Da Funk” on Electricity. The full sample list is enormous — reportedly over 3,500 individual samples across the album.

How did The Avalanches create the album using samples?

The duo spent years digging through second-hand record shops, building a collection of thousands of vinyl records. They worked primarily with sampling equipment and digital audio tools to chop, layer and arrange their sources, often using tiny fragments rather than recognisable loops. The production process reportedly took several years, which is easy to believe when you hear how carefully everything fits together.

Why is Since I Left You considered a classic?

Because it did something genuinely new. Most sample-based music either wears its sources obviously or strips them down to the point where they’re unrecognisable. The Avalanches found a third way — transforming their material so thoroughly that you hear something fresh, while still carrying the emotional weight of the original recordings. It’s an album that makes you feel something, which is the only thing that actually matters.

If you enjoyed our walkthrough of The Avalanches Since I Left You, you might like our post on Sampling Music

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