There have been at least two bands named The Avalanches:
1. An Australian electronic music collective
2. A defunct American surf rock group
NOTE: The former band actually got their name from the latter, as The Avalanches' " Ski Surfin''" album was known to be their favorite album.
1. The Avalanches are an electronic music collective from Melbourne, Australia. They are well known for their use of eclectic sampling, having created their debut album, Since I Left You (2000), entirely out of over 3,500 samples of obscure records, movies, and television shows. This is famously demonstrated on their hit single "Frontier Psychiatrist".
Before this, they were a hip-hop group with the single album Rock City and the EPy El Producto. Currently, The Avalanches are appearing at outdoor festival events with a DJ set, and are reportedly working on new material.
2. The Avalanches was an instrumental surf rock studio group, active in the 1960s, which included Billy Strange, Tommy Tedesco, David Gates (later of Bread) and Hal Blaine. In 1963 they recorded an LP Ski Surfin', which was re-released in 2007.