The Avalanches are back with 'Together', their first new single in almost six years

Six years of silence, broken

The Avalanches have returned. 'Together', released via Modular Recordings, is the first new music from the Australian electronic outfit in almost six years, and it arrives featuring three collaborators: Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza, and Prentiss. Forget introspection or minimal textures. According to Billboard, the track is forward-looking and dancefloor-ready, a sharp departure from anything resembling nostalgia.

The current lineup of the band comprises Robbie Chater, Tony Di Blasi, and Andy Szekeres.

A band with a lot to live up to

The Avalanches have always moved slowly and deliberately. Their 2000 debut, Since I Left You, built its reputation on a patchwork of hundreds of sampled sources, from Françoise Hardy to Raekwon to Madonna. The follow-up, Wildflower, took sixteen years to arrive and debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Their third record, We Will Always Love You, dropped in 2020 and went on to win the Australian Music Prize for album of the year. In 2024, the band contributed 'All You Children' to Jamie XX's In Waves.

The 'Superfun' campaign

'Together' arrives as part of a broader campaign the band is calling 'Superfun'. The animated music video, directed and animated by Jonathan Zawada, features retro hardware including an iPod, a diskette, and a Nokia 3310 descending from the sky on angel wings. It is the kind of visual that matches the single's mood: unashamedly bright and communal.

The band has also pointed listeners toward a site called takumiarchives.com, with a cryptic statement about preserving memories. Whether 'Together' signals the start of a full album cycle remains to be seen, but the machinery is clearly moving.