Swiss club tune becomes surprise yodel hit

A yodeling cover of a well-known smash hit has taken YouTube by storm in Switzerland. It was made to promote the country's premier yodeling event.

The song, which covers DJ Antoine’s club track “Ma Chérie” was recorded to promote the upcoming Federal Yodeling FestivalExternal link, which will take place in Brig, canton Valais, in western Switzerland from June 22.

The video that accompanies the unusual cover features yodelers in traditional clothing heading up a mountain road on the back of tractor. After catching a snippet of the DJ’s 2011 song, pumping out from a car stereo, the musicians seemingly spontaneously start to sing the tune in their own classic style. 

The harmonic stunt was planned by the canton and the festival. The video has been viewed more than 114,000 times on YouTube and on Friday was the number one trending video in the country.

And what did the DJ behind the original track have to say about the yodeling adaptation of his song? DJ Antoine told the Swiss radio station Radio FM1 that it showed “Swissness”. “It makes me happy when the Swiss work with my music,” he told the station.

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With Jo Fahy