Before going to Snowbombing, I was intimidated. I mean, I love snowboarding, and I love music even more. But the prospect of a whole week of both seemed close to insanity; how was one to survive such an ordeal? And how to make the most of it all? The solution I came up with was to go easy on the sauce; it seemed the only way. Against all odds, I managed this remarkable achievement. But it was a mistake.
You see, Snowbombing isn't a skiing or a snowboarding festival particularly. It's late season, and the snow, apart from the day following one overnight dump, was generally quite slushy. The renowned snowboard park wasn't at its best; a lot of rails, a few messy table tops and a bunch of pro-sized kickers were all that remained from some historic prime. It isn't a music nerd's festival either. It's about Bombing. Getting bombed. Jaeger Bombs. Bombing down the slopes in a hilariously nonsensical costume. I should've known, really.
Photo credit: Christian Olofsson
It was very much a drunken party, and there were, indeed, costumes everywhere. Some choice cuts: a pair of lobsters; Kermit the frog; a group dressed as penises; a guy dressed as Thor with an accompanying hammer; a guy dressed as a crayon yelling, "I'm a crayon!"; lots of superheroes. People made a great deal of effort. It was generally friendly, but sometimes a bit brainless; there was lots of shouting, and the occasional squaring up in the street. (No actual fights spotted, though.) For this kind of clientele, some of the more major acts played unsubtle, crowd-pleasing sets. DJ Yoda's AV show, for example, can be quirky and imaginative. This time, though, it was a relentless zeitgeist of breaks and YouTube clips, with cursory messages in thin neon lettering saying things like "Snowbombing!!!" and "Make some noise!!!"
Tensnake played "Getting Me Down" and "Coma Cat," which is fair, but it was still disappointing to hear him play not only the exact same tune after "Coma Cat," but actually the exact same mix into that tune as that on his RA podcast. Fatboy Slim headlined the outdoor street party in the town's outdoor amphitheatre, starting with "Praise You" then going quickly into "Put Your Hands Up in the Air," after which he blasted out soundbites of his hits among generic buzzsaw house.
Photo credit: Christian Olofsson
The vast majority lapped this up. A lot of the people we spoke to absolutely loved it there, and I can understand why. It's about unadulterated, daft hedonism—who doesn't love a bit of that? Even so, the festival covers a lot, and there were also a number of good acts on in decent venues every night. On the Monday night, we saw Ben UFO play a smooth, varied set hanging loosely around vintage drums. Then later on, Darshan from Metro Area flawlessly played a set of solid disco and deep house, including Todd Terje's "Inspector Norse" and Tiger and Woods' "Love in Cambodgia." Then, Lindstrom played a live set which was a highlight of the festival, as not only was it full of emotion and glorious arpeggios, it was also surprisingly punchy and driving.
The following night, DJ Shadow played his see-if-you-get-the-chance Shadowsphere show—the last in Europe, he said. Mad turntablist visuals were projected onto the outside of the sphere, all while Shadow flexed his scratching muscle. On Wednesday, Pearson Sound played a percussive and spacious set, getting weirder and more airy towards the end.
Photo credit: Christian Olofsson
Snowbombing has a few rather special gems. One of them is the igloo, formally known as the "Arctic Disco." It's quite small, and to get to the dance floor you have to go all the way down, through the entrance tunnel, and through the bar, with the tables made of ice. The sound is great as well, due to the acoustic absorption properties of snow. Early on, Mr. Scruff's choices ranged through deep house, classic disco, wonky electro ("Mom, the Video Broke" by Syclops, a pseudonym of Maurice Fulton), and reggae. It was all impeccably mixed, with all of the segues sounding unforced. Later that night the place really came into its own, though. Damian Lazarus started, playing on the progressive side of tech house, including a very sleek, futuristic cut from SIS called "Unforty." Seth Troxler played to the venue as well, but in a different way. His set was wonderfully weird, as hoped. He slid through one surreal brainworm after another, and created something pretty special. It ended too soon, and on the cable car ride down, a lot of people were talking about what an extraordinary experience it had been.
On Friday night, Dizzee Rascal made a lot of sense as the headliner, causing trouble in the forest, as fireworks and lights lit up the woods, and people danced among the trees. Later on, you could have caught Boddika, Paul Woolford or Blawan, all of whom would probably have been excellent, but with a 7 AM departure we headed for bed instead. It wasn't in keeping with the vibe at the festival, to be sure. After all, to truly enjoy Snowbombing, you need to leave self-preservation at home. Get some good insurance. Get hammered, dress up like a nutter, and chuck yourself down the slopes, in any permutation thereof. And make sure to book yourself another holiday for the week after. You'll need it.
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