Pass the Aux 005: Since I Left You by The Avalanches
Pass the Aux 005: Since I Left You by The Avalanches
get a drink, have a good time now, welcome to paradise
Hey, I’m Brandon and welcome to mint\brand – my weekly canvas to be human, explore my brand + music obsessions & share them with you.
In Pass the Aux, I spotlight my favorite records worth savoring from start to finish. Each issue ends with an amuse-bouche of new (& old) heat that I can’t stop listening to.
Listening notes: the ideal dinner party you never want to leave; champagne-dancing with close friends (& strangers); lively evenings by the Port Royal seaport
Perfect for: enjoying with company (your own or otherwise!) at any time of day; feeling like you’re in a crackly, old-time film with some very sophisticated companions
I love this album because…
It’s a masterful concoction of energetic, classic sounds spanning all genres: electronic, disco, hip-hop, oldies, & psychedelic rock. There’s a liveliness & intimacy that fills you up, making for a wildly unique and inviting listen. If hygge was an album, this might be it.
The improvisational nature of the record is incredibly fun & dizzying at times – yet the album is still recognizable and cohesive from beginning to end. Over 900 individual samples comprise Since I Left You – it’s clear each was carefully selected and incorporated.
That mixing & sampling…
Similarly to Bon Iver’s Bon Iver [001], the album unfolds as if it’s a single track. One moment you’re in the middle of the pulsing dance floor of A Different Feeling and a few minutes later you’re soaking up the twinkling melody of Tonight.
When listening, try and imagine yourself in a movie with the diverse array of conversations, radio snippets, and the sea of flutes, piano, electric guitar, synths, and percussion. It’s as if the romantic, cinematic sounds are whisking you from room to room in The Avalanches’ all-nighter.
Fun fact: Even the album artwork was sampled – borrowing from Fred Dana Marsh’s The Sinking of the USS President Lincoln on 31st May 1918!
If you listen to one track, make it:
Since I Left You ( Music | Spotify) – The lead & title track beautifully encapsulates everything I love about this album. Upbeat orchestral elements, vocal samples brimming with optimism, and light, dreamy percussion. A festive, whimsical & iconic song that belongs on every cocktail party playlist.
Songs
One More Song (feat. Roosevelt) by Classixx [2020] | 4:20, House – In sampling the timeless Nick of Time by Bonnie Raitt, Classixx returns with another insanely dance-able, nu-disco gem. (s/o LDB) (Music | Spotify)
Twinkle by Hether [2020] | 3:14, Indie-Psychedelic – One of my favorite artist discoveries of the lockdown – Tame Impala fans, check him out. Listening during sunsets highly recommended. (Music | Spotify)
three a.m. by 53 Thieves [2020] | 2:40, Electronic – This takes me back to the emergence of the electro-r&b meets future bass (circa early-Flume days). (Music | Spotify)
Albums
The Juice, Vol. I by Emotional Oranges [2019] (Music | Spotify) – syrupy sweet, cutting-edge R&B
The Color of Nothing by ford. [⚡️ new release] (Music | Spotify) – moody, booming atmospheric production from the Foreign Family Collective superstar
Ok Love You Bye by Olivia Dean [2019] (Music | Spotify) – spritely sounds & earnest lyrics define a new direction for soul out of east London. An incredible talent.
Decorating Time With…
SAVAGE MODE II by 21 Savage & Metro Boomin, after hours by 53 Thieves (🔥), abysskiss by Adrianne Lenker (of Big Thief), It Was Divine (Remixes) by Alina Baraz, Leave It Beautiful by Astrid S, Yesteryear by Cosmo’s Midnight, Earth Crisis by Dirty Projectors, Why Do We Shake in the Cold? by Elderbrook, Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes (Live) by Ella Fitzgerald (🔥), Atlanta Millionaires Club by Faye Webster, On Hold by Fenne Lily, Shore by Fleet Foxes, Hyper Romance by Jadu Heart, Before by James Blake, Don’t Let the Kids Win by Julia Jacklin, Kid Sistr by Kid Sistr, lil kiiwi by Kiiara, Peder by Lido, Candy II [Beat Tape] by Louis the Child, For Luck by The Ophelias, The Room by Ricky Reed, Fantasy by Whethan, Sleepless Night – EP by Yo La Tengo
Under the covers: Taschen’s colourful future
I don’t collect much, but I will always get excited about an excellent coffee table book:
“Our spirit is, in uncertain times, to be creating books for optimists” – publications that have an uplifting take on life. “There is a beauty to these books; they are like an object almost to be living with,” says Marlene of Taschen’s cultural significance. “If you are interested in art or photography, these books bring that subject into your life.”
From Their Artfully Curated Brooklyn Design Shop, Guest Editors Lichen NYC Are Helping to Democratize Design
Extremely into what Jared & Ed are cooking up in East Williamsburg (need a store playlist, guys??):
Our goal, in first one store, and now another, is to push design forward by empowering individuals with knowledge of past designs and helping them make sense of how to incorporate those pieces into current living scenarios.
Aston Martin collaborates with S3 Architecture to design first residential project
Looking forward to when my office looks like this & my:
Cars will be displayed in a subterranean gallery-style room that's completely enclosed by panels of glass. It will look through to a wine lounge where bottles are kept in floor-to-ceiling latticed shelves that subtly nod to the intersecting lines seen in Aston Martin's logo.
Happy listening,
Brandon