POWDER Staff Pick: Izzy's Favorite Ski Film Songs

2. Keep It Moving -DL Incognito (Seven Sunny Days, MSP 2007/ Sammy Carlson) 

It's honestly a toss up between this and the above Abma segment for most influential film segments I've ever seen. 17-year-old Sammy with early 2000's rap???? I don't even have to say anything else. Just watch. 

3. Dance Yourself Clean - LCD Soundsystem - All.I.Can, Sherpas Cinemas, 2011, JP Auclair 

This is an iconic segment and an iconic song. JP Auclair street skiing in Trail, BC as a comment on climate change in the 2011 Sherpas Cinema film All.I.Can is probably one of the most memorable moments in freeskiing history. The cinematography in this segment is gorgeous and the way the editing uses the song's slow build to tease action before it drops just tops it off. Truly a piece of art. 

4. Because I'm Me -The Avalanches - Imagination Good Company, 2018, Tom Wallisch

After JP Auclair's tragic death in 2014, Tom Wallisch released this short film as an homage to Auclair's street ski segment. As a tribute, it's beautiful, but even as a stand alone film, Imagination is a fantastic piece. The film features a song by Australian band, The Avalanches, who are considered pioneers of the plunderphonics genre, or music created nearly entirely from sampling other songs. 

5. Lofticries - Purity Ring - All.I.Can, Sherpas Cinemas, 2011, Pep Fujas, Eric Hjorleifson, Rory Bushfield, Callum Petit, Kye Peterson

SOMEONE TELL ME IF I'M WRONG but as far as I know, All.I.Can. is the only ski film that's used a Purity Ring song, or at least the only feature length one. This feels like a massive missed opportunity to me, but maybe it's just the universe telling me that one day I should make a film and chock it full of bangers from the Canadian electronic music duo. In any case, if it is the only one, I'm so glad it's one of their best songs and it's Pep Fujas, Hoji, and Rory Bushfield skiing pillows in blower pow. Seriously, put this one on the big screen, turn the sound up and have a spiritual experience. The segment in question is at 22:49 but here's the full film. 

6. Nobody But Me - The Human Beinz - Valhalla, Sweetgrass Productions, 2013

Valhalla is one of my favorite movies, in and outside of the ski film genre. Despite being made in the 2010's, the Sweetgrass Productions film absolutely nails an aesthetic nostalgic of the 70's with its coloring, that orange VW beetle featured in it, and the soundtrack. There's a bunch of tunes in there by a band called Wooden Shjips who are an experimental psychedelic rock band formed in 2009, but could easily pass for a Summer of Love staple band. However, the song in question is the one hit wonder of true 1960's rock band, the Human Beinz and is featured in the film's iconic nude ski scene. I'm not just putting this in because of that scene, although it is amazing. Try listening to this song and having a bad time, I dare you. 

7. Love is All - The Tallest Man on Earth- Mixtape Benshi Creative, 2021, Jake Hopfinger  

Bozeman based production company Benshi Creative actually made a film all about music and skiing called Mixtape and I loved it. The film's closing segment isn't even skiing- it's Jake Hopfinger pow surfing through a burn zone at sunset to The Tallest Man On Earth's 'Love is All' before wrapping up with a bunch of B-Roll shots. It's such a small moment with Hopfinger actually pow surfing to that song, but it captures the feeling of a sunset skiing through the backcountry so perfectly. 

8. Paper Planes - M.I.A - Superheroes of Stoke, MSP, 2012, Sean Petit, Riley Leboe, Richard Permin 

MSP's 2012 retrospective film Superheroes of Stoke is actually the first ski film I ever saw, so naturally the soundtrack is deeply embedded in my brain. There's honestly a million to choose from here- the Chatter Creek segment with 'Lover Reign O'er Me' blasting the back? Epic. The Hoji segment with Alt-J's 'Fitzpleasure' is ski film perfection in every aspect. Alaskan spine skiing with Cody Townsend, Mark Abma, and Richard Permin? Maybe the only time an Imagine Dragons song has been cool. But truly, the crown jewel of this film when it comes to music is the bro-ed out Japan segment with Sean Petit, Riley Leboe, and Richard Permin to M.I.A's 'Paper Planes.' There's no words to describe the beauty of a 2000's hot girl rap anthem combined with some of the funniest dudes in skiing in a sick, sick segment. I love it. 

9. Dress- Sylvan Esso- How Did We Get Here? CK9 Studios, 2023, Janelle Yip

This one was probably higher on my radar when it came out in 2023, but a recent conversation with Janelle Yip made me watch the 2024 CK9 Studios film about Yip, Emily Childs, and Tonje Kvivik (The Blondes!). Yip's segment has 'Dress' from Sylvan Esso's first album that's pretty much top to bottom bangers. From the album, it's not the obvious choice as far as high energy songs go, but rewatching the film, I found myself turning up the volume and thinking 'damn this goes hard,' so it's found its way to this list. Yip's segment with the song is at 9:34, but give the whole film a watch while you're at it. 

10. I'll Keep Coming- Low Roar/ Oblivion - M83 - Land of Giants, MSP 2023/Unsullied Enormity, Luke Bredar 2024, Colby Stevenson, Sammy Carlson 

Okay here's a bit of a mind bender for you: the closing segment of MSP's 2023 flick Land of Giants features the song 'I'll Keep Coming' by Low Roar in one of the sickest film segments I've ever seen. It's Sammy Carlson and Colby Stevenson shredding Alaskan spines with incredible and beautiful footage and it's just so, epic. MSP actually had so much good footage from the trip that they divided the segment into the film's opening, and two parts at the end. The end bit starts with a Young Fathers song that also goes super hard, and then ends with this Low Roar song. 

HOWEVER, MSP didn't post just this segment on their YouTube (boohoo, you have to watch the whole film or scroll to find it. Whatever, its a sick film), so when I was thinking about what to drop in here, I also remembered that the drone pilot on the trip, Luke Bredar, compiled an edit of his own footage from the trip. Bredar just happened to also drop a banger of a song in his film Unsullied Enormity with M83's 'Oblivion' as the backing. So for the last thing on this list, treat yourself and watch both the MSP segment with Young Fathers & Low Roar on one of the many streaming services Land of Giants is available on and then pull up Bredar's edit and let M83 take you away once again. Big screen, lights down, volume up.