Snowbombing 2006

Austria | by Ross Purdie | 02 April 2006

Avalanche warnings are in place around Mayrhofen but by far the biggest thing to hit the Austrian town is Snowbombing, a week long dance festival featuring Audio Bullys, 2 Many DJs, Cuban Brothers and many more...

2-8 April 2006

An explosion reverberates down the main street causing startled skiers to almost jump out of their boots as they hobble home after a day on the slopes. The distant rumble of a far-off avalanche triggered by the deliberate detonation of dynamite can be heard. It's been less than 24 hours since the last heavy beats resonated through the small town of Mayrhofen and it won't be long until the next. This is Snowbombing.

Anyone who's been skiing or snowboarding will know the importance of 'après ski'; the tradition of hanging up your poles after an exhilarating day on the mountain, to indulge in a few locally brewed beers and discuss who had the most impressive wipe-out of the day. It is one of life's utter pleasures, the only problem lying in an invisible law which once stated that no decent music would ever be played in any Alpine resort. That was until a bunch of culture-starved snow junkies decided that for one week at least the traditional sausage music, yodelling, and Euro-cheese of Austria would be replaced by a festival of brain-freezing beats from some of the continent's finest dance and DJ talent.

Established in 2000, Snowbombing skated around various resorts in France and Austria before settling into Mayrhofen in 2005, a town described as far back as 1992 as an 'Ibiza in the Alps', not least by Mixmag. Famed for its partying spirit and steady investment in its skiing facilities, Mayrhofen has become the perfect location for the Snowbombing ethic of 'piste by day, beats by night' and has forged itself as the festival's home for the foreseeable future.

And it should come with a warning: "Danger: Snowbombing can seriously damage your skiing technique". Taking over several venues throughout the town, each evening's festivities kick off around 6pm, giving you just enough time to grab a post-piste shower and change. And it goes on all night - if you let it, of course. While the main venues shut down at 4am, the parties continue in the dusty depths of the Prince Charles pub and, if it wasn't for the all-too-real danger of avalanches, a disused dairy farm that sadly is put off limits due to the possibility of a heavy bassline sparking a huge flow of killer snow.

Snowbombing's unique appeal lies in its marriage of snow and sounds; the simple idea that you push yourself to the limit on both until you literally can't take any more - or fall over. The majority of festival goers are in their '20s and '30s and if there's anything this Snowbombing crowd can really appreciate, then it's technique. After tirelessly trying to master the mountains during the day, whether on skis or snowboards, there's an understanding of the painstaking efforts required to attain pefection and therefore a real respect for some of the mind-boggling musical talents on show here this week.

From the opening blasts of the 'Ski Sunday' theme to mark DJ Yoda's classic cut-up set, to the break-dancing, naked cabaret of The Cuban Brothers, there's an excited atmosphere of mutual appreciation with the DJs and artists having as great a time as the punters. A couple of DJs don't turn up due to illness (Meat Katie, Dave Clarke) but Snowbombing's unsung resident spinners more than make up for their absense, most notably Dave Clarke's replacement who plays such a potent mix of minimal electro and sleazy house that 'star attraction' Darren Emerson sounds initially out-shadowed on the follow on. Elsewhere, there's a top set by Norman Jay, who plays possibly the hardest we've ever heard him, pummelling the crowd with gritty funk before stepping into drum'n'bass and eventually ending his set on Goldie's 21-minute epic 'Timeless' - so long, in fact, the bouncers cut the record short to the understandable anger of a very drunken crowd.

It's almost mandatory to be drunk to Audio Bullys who play a hugely anticipated live set on the closing night. Their urban-Essex fusion of garage, house and hip-hop can come across a bit East 17 in the cold light of day, but live and pissed it's all a stomping good laugh - provided you don't take them too seriously, which they so clearly do. There are loads of other great moments throughout the week; James Zabeila rocking the Speak Easy bar, Petty Crooks taking things through until dawn in the Prince Charles on the final night, and half of Mayrhofen looking like a Goldie Lookin' Chain mutation experiment gone wrong for the legendary Tayo's Tracksuit Party.

But by far the highlight of the week is Thursday night's street party, headed up by 2 Many DJs, when the lower cable-car station is transformed into a giant DJ booth. Different Strokes (aka Russ from The Cuban Brothers) warms things up with some funky bootlegs including a hip-swinging remix of Leonard Cohen's 'Sweet Home Alabama' before the Belgian duo instigate mass jaw-dropping and general pandemonia as they glide though twisted, driving electro mashed up with crowd favourites such as New Order's 'Blue Monday' and a filthy, squelching remix of Kaiser Chiefs' 'Every Day I Love You Less And Less'. There's something quite Roman about the whole affair as the regal-like Dewaele brothers gaze down from their cosy heights upon their baying yet simultaneously freezing audience. But on a more positive note, it only goes to typify the international coming together of Snowbombing, which is as much about attracting Germans, Dutch and yes Belgians as it is about pulling in the Brits. And there's no doubt about it, 2 Many DJs are in a class of their own.

As the week winds on, more and more casualties emerge bruised and scathed, some due to accidents on the mountain, others from self-inflicted Jaegermeister sessions. With the extreme nature of Snowbombing's activity affecting both night and day, it makes a wet weekend at Glastonbury look about as tiring as being backstage at a Spice Girls reunion gig. Snowbombing will almost undoubtedly return to Mayrhofen next year. The town is built on a passion for music and dancing into the night, as well as the obvious snow sports connection, and the locals love an international event being staged here. While communities across the UK shudder at the thought of a festival taking place under their noses, for the people of Mayrhofen this week-long event is a great spectacle of what the town can achieve and prove to the rest of Europe. To them the Snowbombing invasion is just another big bang ... just another avalanche warning.