# Avalanche City

Avalanche City is the stage name of indie folk musician Dave Baxter from Auckland, New Zealand. He is best known for his 2011 New Zealand No. 1 single "Love, Love, Love" and his 2015 single "Inside Out", which also charted at No. 1. In 2011, Dave Baxter was awarded the APRA Silver Scroll and nominated for three New Zealand Music Awards, including Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.

## History
### Early life

Baxter began playing guitar at age nine and during his teens he performed in the bands One Must Fall and The Chase. He studied at Waikato Institute of Technology in Hamilton, graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor of Media Arts (Commercial Music).

### 2011–2014 Our New Life Above the Ground

In late 2009 Baxter left his job as a music writer and began recording bands in his own studio. He also began to write songs, practice singing, and create his own melodies. After performing his songs for friends, Baxter started Avalanche City and began touring with other musicians. He eventually decided to record the album Our New Life Above the Ground at Kourawhero Hall and offered it as a free download from Avalanche City's official website. Initial response to the album was extremely positive and the song "Love, Love, Love" was picked up by the local New Zealand TV station TV2 TV2 for their station promos. After this point the song placed on the New Zealand singles chart.
The album Our New Life Above the Ground was then re-released and sold well, placing number 4 on the official national albums chart and achieving gold status.

### 2015–2018 We are for the Wild Places

After 4 years since the release of the Baxter's record breaking debut single Love Love Love, he released his highly anticipated new album, We are for the Wild Places in July 2015. The album's first single Inside Out was very popular and quickly reached number one on the Official New Zealand Music Chart and was certified Platinum. The album itself was placed no 3 on the Official Top 40 Albums Chart. The second official single from the album, Keep Finding A Way has been released to radio late August.

### 2019–2023 My Babylon

"My Babylon" was released on 22 February 2019, featuring nine new tracks available on streaming platforms, digital download, vinyl, and CD. Among the most popular tracks were "Prayed for Love," "Whispers," and the title track, "My Babylon." Following the release, Dave took an extended break from music for nearly five years. In a 2024 video blog on YouTube titled "Why I Quit Music, And Why I'm Coming Back," he detailed his reasons for the hiatus, primarily citing burnout. At the time, he was uncertain if or when he would return to Avalanche City.

### 2024 – present Return from Hiatus

In 2024, Dave returned to music with the release of his single "Keep That Love" on 24 May 2024, along with the promise of at least one more single in the near future.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak positions | Peak positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | NZ | AUS | Certifications |
| Our New Life Above the Ground | Released: 4 April 2011 Label: Warner Music Formats: CD, digital download | 4 | 97 | RMNZ: Gold |
| We are for the Wild Places | Released: 3 July 2015 Label: Warner Music Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download | 3 | — | |
| My Babylon | Released: 22 February 2019 Label: The Guacamole Farm Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download | 27 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that were not released or did not chart in that region. |||||

### Extended plays

| Title | Album details |
| Snow | Released: 4 April 2011 Label: Warner Music Formats: CD, digital download |

### Singles

| Title | Year | Peak positions | Peak positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | NZ | AUS | Certifications | Album |
| "Love Love Love" | 2011 | 1 | 49 | RMNZ: 2× Platinum | Our New Life Above the Ground |
| "Ends in the Ocean" | 2011 | — | — | | Our New Life Above the Ground |
| "You and I" | 2011 | — | — | | Our New Life Above the Ground |
| "Sunset" | 2012 | — | — | | Our New Life Above the Ground |
| "Inside Out" | 2015 | 1 | — | RMNZ: Platinum | We Are for the Wild Places |
| "Keep Finding a Way" | 2015 | — | — | | We Are for the Wild Places |
| "Prayed for Love" | 2018 | — | — | | My Babylon |
| "My Babylon" | 2019 | — | — | | My Babylon |
| "Keep That Love" | 2024 | — | — | | |
| "—" denotes releases that were not released or did not chart in that region. ||||||
Notes
* ↑ "Prayed for Love" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 15 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.

### Music videos

| Title | Director(s) | Year |
| "Love Love Love" | Josh Smith | 2011 |
| "Ends in the Ocean" | Jefferton James | 2011 |
| "You and I" | Jefferton James | 2011 |
| "Sunset" | Kyle Eaton | 2012 |
| "Inside Out" | Chris Lane | 2015 |
| "Keep Finding a Way" | Josh Smith | 2015 |
| "Little Fire" | Chris Lane | 2016 |
| "Prayed for Love" | Mark Fruish | 2018 |
| "My Babylon" | Mark Fruish | 2019 |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Organisation | Nominated Work | Award | Result |
| 2011 | APRA Silver Scroll Awards | "Love, Love, Love" | Silver Scroll Award | Won |
| 2011 | New Zealand Music Awards | "Love, Love, Love" | Single of the Year | Nominated |
| 2011 | New Zealand Music Awards | Our New Life Above Ground | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2011 | New Zealand Music Awards | Avalanche City | Breakthrough Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2012 | APRA Silver Scroll Awards | "Love, Love, Love" | Most Performed Work in New Zealand | Won |
| 2015 | New Zealand Music Awards | "Inside Out" | Single of the Year | Nominated |