Next month, the Avalanches will release their long-awaited new album No Bad Memories, which has 25 tracks and a lot of collaborators listed. Last week, for instance, we learned that Mike Patton appears on three tracks from the LP, one of which also features Haley Joel Osment. It the rare LP to feature guest spots from Carly Simon, Rivers Cuomo, and Panda Bear. And the new singles just keep arriving.
For months, the Avalanches have been releasing new tracks that'll appear on No Bad Memories — "Blue Shadows," with Karen O, "Every Single Weekend," with Jamie xx, "Can't Get Over Losing You" with Portraits Of Tracy, and "Together," with Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza, and Prentiss. Today, we get another one.
The Avalanches; latest single is a striking, moody dance track called "Far Away." It's got assists from UK art-rapper John Glacier and from Khadija Al Hanafi, the Tunisian footwork producer who appears on five No Bad Memories tracks. "Far Away" gets a lot of its power from the contrast between Glacier's sleepy deadpan vocals and the rushing drums that Al Hanafi might've helped program.
On the subject of Al Hanafi, Avalanches member Robbie Chater says, "Her knack for flipping a sample completely re-inspired me. It's been a joy collaborating with Khadija on this album." Here's what the group says about "Far Away":
We spent a beautiful London summer working on a number of tracks with John. This track in particular captures that blissed out lysergic feeling of dusty evening light, soaking up music with friends as the light filters through the trees and feeling as if we're living in a shared dream.
The Avalanches shot their own video for the track last December in Tokyo and Minakami, and they used a 2001 Sony Handycam to capture it all. Check it out below.
No Bad Memories is out 10/16 on Modular.
