The Avalanches are back with new music. Today, the Australian electronic duo dropped “We Will Always Love You”, a collaboration with Dev Hynes of Blood Orange, and presumably the first single from their upcoming album. Take a listen below.
Ahead of the song’s release, The Avalanches revealed its title using Morse Code on the top of the Capitol Tower in Los Angeles. As they explain in a statement, “Sometimes we receive a message. Telling us our music has been there; through dark times, loneliness, loss. There are no words to express how moving or profound this connection with you is. Because the music was born out of such moments itself, and so it is felt, by those with open hearts, on the same wavelength it was first created. Morse Code beamed and received by hearts and hearts alike.”
They continued: “Our new record is about such journeys, from darkness to light. About life after (all kinds of) death. About the transcendent nature of music itself. Every voice ever played on the radio over the last 100 years now exists in the stars; the transmissions of these singers are forever floating around out there, lost in the cosmos, endless travelling. Tonight Smokey Robinson duets with Dev Hynes and The Roches. Those spirits are out there. We are each a tune, floating in space. And this one’s for you.”
As mentioned by The Avalanches, in addition to featuring vocals from Hynes, “We Will Always Love You” is built off samples of “I’ll Take You Anywhere That You Come” by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, and The Roches’ “Hammond Song”.
It feels like a dream getting a record from The Avalanches so soon, even though we don’t actually know when their next album is coming out. They’re notoriously slow when it comes to making music — they released their debut full-length, Since I Left You, in 2000 and followed it up with Wildflowers in 2016 — which makes a four year wait feel like mere seconds by comparison. What we do know is that their third LP was being mixed a couple months ago and also promises guest contributions from JPEGMAFIA, Cornelius, Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux, and many more.
Recently, The Avalanches confirmed their first live appearance of 2010, a festival gig at Best Kept Secret Festival in The Netherlands. Presumambly, future information on the new album and additional tour dates are on the way.
The Avalanches Drop New Song “We Will Always Love You” Featuring Blood Orange: Stream
Nina Corcoran
