The Avalanches releases "Blue Shadows (feat Karen O)"

“Blue Shadows was an idea of Andy’s that was almost lost to time until Tony stumbled across it in an old folder and began championing it as a potential album song. It’s since become one of my favourite Avalanches tunes. Many moons later and thanks to the kindness of Claudio Casalini and the estate of Celso Valli, it looked like Tony’s dream for Blue Shadows might come true.

I included it in a selection of song ideas for Karen, 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!” Robbie Chater

“When Robbie sent me Blue Shadows I jumped at the chance to collaborate. 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. The Avalanches frequency is high, I’m so happy to be asked to slide into it.” Karen O

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‘Blue Shadows’ heralds the second collaboration between The Avalanches and Karen O, the iconic solo artist and Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman having featured on “Dial D For Devotion” from the band’s 2020 album ‘We Will Always Love You’. ‘Blue Shadows’ also marks the third taste of new music from The Avalanches in 2026, following ‘Every Single Weekend’ with Jamie xx - hailed as “dancefloor-ready, Jet2-coded” (DIY), “straightforwardly joyful... euphoric” (whynow) and a “summer-ready banger” (NME) - and ‘Together’ with Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza and Prentiss, described by CLASH as “a riot of colour – the group’s plunderphonic inclinations remain, and this feels rooted in the club experience.”

ABOUT THE AVALANCHES

“Better than just about any music ever made” – Pitchfork

The Avalanches are Robbie Chater, Tony Di Blasi and Andy Szekeres.

There are few artists on the planet as influential and original as The Avalanches. Their debut album ‘Since I Left You’ laid a global footprint for collaborative sampology in the 21st century.

With over 1 million album sales and 700 Million streams, the group’s mark on popular culture has expanded across two more acclaimed LPs ‘Wildflower’ and ‘We Will Always Love You’, coveted collectables & a legion of fans spanning the globe. In 2024 the band featured on Jamie XXs acclaimed ‘In Waves’ album with collaboration ‘All You Children’.

ABOUT KAREN O

Born in Seoul and raised in New Jersey, Karen O is a vocalist, songwriter, artist and the iconic frontwoman of the eight-time Grammy-nominated Yeah Yeah Yeahs. A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a focus on film, she has helped redefine the possibilities of rock performance over the past two decades, influencing a new generation of artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Japanese Breakfast and the Linda Lindas, among many others.

With the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, O has released five acclaimed studio albums, including the Grammy-nominated Cool It Down, the band's celebrated 2022 return after a nine-year recording hiatus. It earned Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Alternative Music Performance for "Spitting Off the Edge of the World" featuring Perfume Genius.

Beyond the band, O has built an adventurous multidisciplinary career spanning music, film, visual art and performance. She released the acclaimed solo album Crush Songs; wrote and performed music for Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are; and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "The Moon Song" from Jonze's Her. Her experimental rock opera Stop the Virgens premiered at New York's St. Ann's Warehouse before touring internationally.

O has collaborated with artists including David Lynch, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, as well as fashion house KENZO. Her 2019 collaborative album with Danger Mouse, Lux Prima, received widespread critical acclaim, earned a Grammy nomination for the single "Woman," and inspired the immersive multimedia installation An Encounter with Lux Prima, which premiered at Los Angeles' Marciano Art Foundation.

The Avalanches LIVE:

October 31, 2026 - Les Nuits Weekender (Live) – Brussels, Belgium