Hot on the heels of the success of their just-released debut album, Since I Left You, Robbie Chater of The Avalanches blessed the juice.net music chatroom with his presence. So what exactly do Kriss Kross, Madonna, M*A*S*H and champagne have to do with Australia`s purveyors of samples, beats and analogue mayhem? Robbie filled us in.



butterfly asks: What`s the deal with Madonna supposedly liking your music enough to sign you up? If it`s true, can`t blame the woman for having good taste!

ROBBIE : She heard about us when we were clearing the "Holiday" sample. W e`re not sure what label we`re going to go with in America yet.

Parker asks: Robbie, you guys thank Kriss Kross on Since I Left You. Is that the old band Kriss Kross? If so, what do you guys have to do with them?

ROBBIE : Yeah, that`s Kriss Kross and we just wanted to thank them for making "Jump Jump." [Laughs]

transit asks: I know you`ve done the Badly Drawn Boy remix, but can you think of anyone you`d personally like to have remix Avalanches material, if you could choose anyone, and why?

ROBBIE : Van Dyke Parkes would be at the top of the list and he`s going to do it and that`s really exciting ... and maybe Daft Punk.

molly asks: You`ve been starting your recent sets with a new song that has Darren MC`ing -- will it be on a release in the future? And what is it called?

ROBBIE : We haven`t got a name for it yet. We`re thinking of having a competition to see who can think up a name for it. I think it`ll be one of the first things we`ll record for our next record.

Julia asks: Hey Robbie, lovin` the album. Whatever happened to Katsumi? Will he ever return for a guest spot or is it a closed chapter?

ROBBIE : I think it`s a closed chapter unless he gets in contact with us because we don`t know how to contact him anymore.

Dom asks: Do you use music software like Pro-tools or Cubase or Logic Audio? And what hardware do you use?

ROBBIE : We use Studio Vision on a Mac and also Pro-tools and Akai s900, s2000 and s5000.

Parker asks: Robbie, do you ever take a look at some of The Avalanches fan sites? Like mine at www.theavalanches.net?

ROBBIE : No, I don`t, but Darren does and I`m hopefully going to be hooked up next week and check them all out. E veryone keeps telling me there`s some great ones out there.

calamity asks: Are you guys doing any gigs soon? I know you had to cancel some because of Darren`s broken leg. Or is the tour rescheduled?

ROBBIE : We`re going to do the Falls Festival and then the Big Day Out and then a big tour of our own in March or April.

Clint asks: I read you guys remixed DJ Punk Roc -- what song was it, and when`s it getting released?

ROBBIE : We got about half way through remixing it when we found out they didn`t really want it anymore so we didn`t finish it.

Lauren asks: What`s the most embarrassing thing you have done on stage?

ROBBIE : Torn my pants!

Parker asks: When did you guys very first come together and what was your first gig?

ROBBIE : I guess it was at the Empress in Melbourne in 1996 ... maybe.

stu asks: Are you still making long distance love with Van Dyke Parkes?

ROBBIE : Yep! [Laughs] Darren got an email the other day from Van Dyke telling him all about his children and what they`re doing with their lives.

layka asks: The Avalanches seem to be filling in a gap that has virtually been lacking in Australian music of late, bar perhaps The Resin Dogs. Do you feel you have created another genre, paving the way for a new wave of sampologists?

ROBBIE : [Thinks for a moment] I don`t know ... [Laughs and then says, sounding stumped] Yeah? Maybe?

sohosoup asks: Where is the most bizarre place the band has got a sample and for what song?

ROBBIE : Some of the horses that we got from old movies for "Frontier Psychiatrist" -- and we recorded Darren`s cat drinking water.

Clint asks: Most the album was supposedly finished quite a while ago. Has much new material been written since?

ROBBIE : Yeah, we`ve got bits and pieces of about seven or eight songs and Tony`s half way through making a techno record as well.

Dave asks: Would you ever consider performing at 18th or 21st birthday parties? If so, how much can I get you for?

ROBBIE : No. [Laughs]

molly asks: You`ve been slotting quite a few older songs that have rhyming into your sets between new songs. Do you find that these sorts of songs work better in a live format?

ROBBIE : A lot of the time, yeah. I guess that`s why we`re still playing them.

Parker asks: Do you know if there`s any way we can buy or order in your old vinyl singles and EPs?

ROBBIE : Try writing to Modular Records in Sydney. They might have some of the "Electricity" 12".

sohosoup asks: I love the cover for the debut album, but why the sinking ship (I`m assuming Titanic)?

ROBBIE : We just wanted a cover that was kind of old and looked handmade, like the music. I guess we thought it suited the music -- kinda sad and some of the music is a little bit...

Clint asks: Do yourself or the band listen to much new music, or is most your time spent playing old records and such?

ROBBIE : Yeah, you know, we`re always looking for new stuff. I used to spend a lot of time checking out new records but there`s not really much that`s excited me a lot of the time. T here`s one new record called Spaced Invader, by Hatiras. That`s pretty cool.

Parker asks: What made you guys put "Electricity" on the new album seeing it was released a fair while back?

ROBBIE : It`s a new version on the album. Not many people got it the first time round so we thought we`d include it.

karmabox asks: I awoke one morning to a lovely Open Foundation mini-documentary about yourselves on the ABC -- any plans of a sequel?

ROBBIE : Probably not for a long time. T hat took ages to make and it was kind of an ordeal so I don`t think we want to go through that again in any hurry.

Lauren asks: How did you get into this sort of stuff?

ROBBIE : I`ve never really done anything else.

layka asks: You have had heaps of airplay on Triple J over the years. Did you find that kind of publicity positive? (That`s where I first heard "Undersea Community.")

ROBBIE : Yeah, it`s been great and I guess we`re really lucky that they tend to pick up our songs.

Parker asks: What would you say your greatest influences have been musically?

ROBBIE : I`d say Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, Michael Jackson (when he was younger) and Daft Punk. Dave asks: When you go on the road do you drink much? And if so, what drink ?

ROBBIE : I don`t personally, the other guys do -- anything from champagne (Dexta) to bourbon (Gordy).

sohosoup asks: Did you take the journey with DJ Dexta to the World DJ championship as his No. 1 cheersquad?

ROBBIE : No we didn`t. [Laughs]

Clint asks: Seeing as there`s been a lot of interest overseas in you guys, will most of next year be spent outside Australia?

ROBBIE : I guess about half will be spent outside of Australia. We`ll be in England for about two and a half months doing festivals in their summer. W e`re going to do a massive, really special tour here before we leave. We`re going to take a real big army tent around on tour, so it`ll be like M*A*S*H.

Dave asks: Apart from music, do you have any other unknown-to-the-public talents?

ROBBIE : Looking after tropical fish. That`s about it I guess.

Parker asks: What was your most memorable gig and why?

ROBBIE : Supporting Stereolab at Prince of Wales. It was brilliant because Manabu Anmiko did the show with us. A nd maybe the last show of the Public Enemy tour.

Clint asks: How hard has it been translating the sample-based album when playing live?

ROBBIE : It was really hard. We had to rehearse everyday for two months to figure out how to do it and write out a lot of songs loosely based on the album.

B : Do you have any last words for the chatters?

ROBBIE : Thanks to everyone who came to our shows. It feels good to finally have the record out. :)

Martianet, B and nessrocks