The Avalanches are Karen O are a match made in heaven — again.
The Australian electronic group have recruited the Yeah Yeah Yeahs icon for “Blue Shadows” — listen to the mesmerising track below.
“I included it in a selection of song ideas for Karen,” reveals Robbie Chater. “We wanted her to hear it, although I never imagined a vocal would be possible; the demo had such a peculiar, singular mood.
“What she recorded still amazes me after months of listening — it’s so achingly forlorn and somehow sounds as if it always existed as a song. I don’t know how that is possible, or what she was channelling — some people just have access to a higher plane, I suppose!”
Karen O says she “jumped at the chance to collaborate” when Robbie sent her “Blue Shadows”.
“The Avalanches’ last record, ‘We Will Always Love You’, was a gift to humanity in 2020, and I’ll count it as one of my top 10 forever,” she adds. “The Avalanches frequency is high, I’m so happy to be asked to slide into it.”
This isn’t the first time The Avalanches and Karen O have worked together. She actually worked on said “gift to humanity,” We Will Always Love You, on “Dial D for Devotion”.
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That interlude track was arguably the most melancholic moment on an album chock-full of melancholic moments, Karen O beautifully singing heartbreaking lyrics from the Purple Mountains song “Darkness and Cold” — “The light of my life is going out tonight / In a pink champagne Corvette / The light of my life is going out tonight / Without a flicker of regret” — accompanied by just a twinkling, mournful piano. (David Berman, the genius songwriter behind Purple Mountains, was also no stranger to The Avalanches, featuring on “Saturday Night Inside Out”, a standout track from their 2016 album Wildflower.)
“Blue Shadows” follows two previous 2026 singles from The Avalanches as they build anticipation for their new album.
“Every Single Weekend”, a new collaboration with English producer Jamie xx, followed “Together”, which featured Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza, and Prentiss.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ recently spoke to The Avalanches in support of a joint campaign with Telstra, where they gave an update in which they confirmed they are working on new music.”We probably can’t say too much at the moment though — it’s still likely a few years away,” they said at the time.
Last year, we named The Avalanches the greatest Australian electronic act of all time. “When Since I Left You arrived in 2000, there was nothing else like it,” we wrote.
“It really was a great honour to be named among so many wonderful and talented electronic artists,” The Avalanches said of the honour. “The scene is flourishing at the moment — there are so many new artists making incredible music and keeping us inspired year after year.”
The Avalanches’ “Blue Shadows” (ft. Karen O) is out now.
