Mashup Artists Turn The Obergurgl-Hochgurgl Ski Resort into Amusingly Surreal Songs
The Obergurgl-Hochgurgl ski resort in the Ötztal Alps in Tyrol, Austria, and skiers that frequent it, have become the raw material for a quartet of musicians and YouTube remixers to edit into "slope songs". They include mashup artists Swede Mason and DJ Steve Porter, along with musicians Ricardo Autobahn and Nate Mills.
They make for unique and thoroughly entertaining takes on the standard grunts, laughter, screams, gurns and joyful exclamations that accompany someone on a bout of recreational winter sports. And they make for a welcome break from the typical ski videos showing a slick seasoned pro cutting through the snow—which is not the experience many skiers of a lesser skillset experience while on a winter break.
It's marks the third campaign created for the Obergurgl-Hochgurgl ski resort by content studio The Viral Factory. Their previous ski videos for the Austrian skiing holiday destination featured some amusingly bizarre photobombing and perhaps the most dangerous (and most CGI enhanced) ski run you'll ever see.
"The other two [videos] were obviously fake." notes Matt Smith, co-founder of The Viral Factory. "So this time we wanted to do something real, and use actual people on holiday skiing in the resort."
How The Viral Factory Shot The 'Slope Song' Videos
Using a GoPro mounted onto helmets The Viral Factory filmed the visitors and guests coming down the slopes at the Obergurgl-Hochgurgl (fondly called 'The Diamond in the Alps!'), capturing their reactions as they tear up the snow. Reactions that, in the right hands, become catchy and surreal tunes.
"Most ski videos are just lovely shots of pro skiers carving through powder, so we decided to focus on the expressions and the noises normal people make when they’re skiing." explains Smith. "We shot over 40 hours of footage and gave it to three of our favourite YouTube remixers, and a friendly musician, and asked each one to create their own song of the slopes."
The results are four different yet equally entertaining takes and edits that turn regular skiers at the ski resort into amusingly alternate songs. You can check out Nate Mills version at the top of this post, and see the rest below.
Ski Resort 'Slope Song' feat. DJ Steve Porter
Remember 2009's "Slap Chop Rap"? If you do then just reading those words will probably be enough to ear worm you into singing Porter's autotuned version of the 'Slap Chop' infomercial in your head. And you'll also be glad that the mashup artist has created a very addictive hook out of the jubilant sounds of these winter sports fans who turned up for the start of the skiing season at the Obergurgl-Hochgurgl ski resort.
Obergurgl-Hochgurgl 'Slope Song' feat. Swede Mason
Swede Mason became internet famous with his hilarious 2011 mashup "Masterchef Synesthesia". And with this video he shows he's equally adept at remixing the Obergurgl-Hochgurgl skiers' expressions into absurdist comedic fun as he is at remixing Gregg Wallace's adoration of a buttery biscuit base.
Ski Resort 'Slope Song' feat. Ricardo Autobahn
English musician and producer Ricardo Autobahn, whose 2009 viral mashup "The Golden Age of Video" remixed famous TV shows and films into a toe-tapping tune, brings his ear for a catchy re-edit to bear on the whoops and laughter of these Austrian skiers on the slopes at the Obergurgl-Hochgurgl ski resort.
Find out more about the funky Obergurgl-Hochgurgl ski resort in in Tyrol, Austria here.