"Since I Left You" is a song by Australian dance group The Avalanches

The Avalanches

The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in 1997 with mainstays Robbie Chater on keyboards, Tony Diblasi on keyboards, bass and backing vocals, and Darren Seltmann on vocals and keyboards. They are known for their live DJ sets and their debut album Since I Left You , which was...

, released as the third single from their debut album Since I Left You

Since I Left You

Since I Left You is the debut studio album by Australian music group The Avalanches released on 27 November 2000. Produced by Avalanches members Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann, it was released on Modular Recordings. The album was created in two separate near-identical studios by Chater and...

.

Background

The song, like many other tracks from Since I Left You, is almost completely composed of samples taken from other songs.

Among the samples included on the track are: the barely audible opening, taken from the ending of Rose Royce

Rose Royce

Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...

's "Daddy Rich"; guitar from Tony Mottola

Tony Mottola

Tony Mottola was an American guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey, and died in Denville, New Jersey.-Career:...

's "Anema E Core"; the "do-do-do" vocal from the start of The Duprees

The Duprees

The Duprees is an American musical group of doo-wop style which had a series of hit records in the early 1960s.-Career:The group originated in the early 1960s in Jersey City, New Jersey, and comprised William L. Dickinson High School students Michael Arnone, Joe Santollo, John Salvato, Tom...

' "The Sky's the Limit"; the main vocal sample, taken from The Main Attraction's "Everyday"; the flute, taken from Tony Mottola's cover version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix

By the Time I Get to Phoenix

"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is the title of a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was made famous by American country music singer Glen Campbell, appearing as the opening track on the latter's 1967 album of the same name. Campbell's version reached #2 on...

"; the drums, taken from Lamont Dozier

Lamont Dozier

Lamont Herbert Dozier is an American songwriter and record producer, born in Detroit, Michigan. Dozier has either co-written or produced several US Billboard #1 hits.-Career:...

's "Take Off Your Make Up"; and some organ from Klaus Wunderlich

Klaus Wunderlich

Klaus Wunderlich was a German musician.Wunderlich was born in Chemnitz and died in Engen from a heart attack....

's cover version of "Let's Do the Latin Hustle".

The song was given an early release date in the United Kingdom, serving as the first single there; in other countries, it served as the third single succeeding "Electricity" and "Frontier Psychiatrist

Frontier Psychiatrist

"Frontier Psychiatrist" is a song by Australian group The Avalanches, released as the second single from their debut album Since I Left You.-Background:The song is a mix of audio samples of music, dialogue and sound effects....

". It became The Avalanches' second single to chart anywhere, after "Frontier Psychiatrist". It charted in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, reaching #16 on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 and becoming their highest charting single there. It also reached #97 in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, where it stayed on the charts for two weeks.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Blue Source, follows the story of two miners who work in a mine in a black-and-white world, who find a passage into a dancing studio, situated in a colour world. The video revolves around one of the miners dancing with the two dancers he and his partner meet.

The video was given the "Best Video" award at the 2001 MTV Europe Music Awards

MTV Europe Music Awards

The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider...

, and was voted #4 on Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

's Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s.

Formats and track listings

12" single
A "Since I Left You" - 4:38

B1 "Everyday" - 6:58

B2 "Thank You Caroline" - 2:16

CD maxi single

1. "Since I Left You" (Single edit) - 4:39
2. "Everyday" - 7:02
3. "Thank You Caroline" (Andy Votel Remix) - 4:08

CD promo maxi single

1. "Since I Left You" (edit) - 3:21
2. "Since I Left You" (Prince Paul
   Prince Paul
   Paul Huston, better known by the stage name Prince Paul, is an American disc jockey and hip-hop record producer. He was also a founding member of the Gravediggaz where he used the name The Undertaker.- Biography :...
   
    Remix, featuring Breeze and Kelli Sae) - 3:47
3. "Since I Left You" (Stereolab
   Stereolab
   Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
   
    Remix) - 4:35
4. "Since I Left You" (Cornelius Remix) - 5:35
5. "Since I Left You" (Album version) - 4:36

CD mini single

1. "Since I Left You" - 4:22
2. "Extra Kings" - 3:46

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	67
Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	97
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	16