This morning when I opened the digital news app of one of the most well known Dutch music platforms '3voor12', I read something that caught my interest in such ways I had to dig deeper. The electronic music industry is apparently ditching one of the big names in the techno scene, Nina Kravitz. I know her as a DJ and producer of techno. Apparently, she is a singer also (source). I didn't know that at all, though I've heard some creations from her own hands with vocals in more recent years. If I remember correctly, this was for the game Cyberpunk 2077. Though I did like her DJ sets back in the days when I discovered her, lately they don't touch my soul anymore. Her Cyberpunk 2077 work was maybe the worse of all. But all that aside. It is not my intention to review her work in this post, but talk about the somewhat disturbing news that various organisations in the industry are declining to work with Nina. Is she falling victim to the 'cancelling' culture we seem to have embraced?
According to the latest news article by '3voor12' (source) yesterday the Dutch festival 'The Crave' announced to de-scope Nina from their lineup with a simple message: "We have to inform you that after long and intensive discussions, both internally and externally, we have decided that Nina Kraviz will no longer play at The Crave 2022." This happened just days after the announcement by the Dutch label 'Clone Records' to discontinue the collaboration with Nina's own label 'Trip Recordings'. The German festival 'Pollerwiesen' also took Nina from their lineup. Movement Festival in Detroit, the city where Techno was invented back in the early 80s, announced to re-evaluate the booking of Nina. One of the world-leading Techno organisations 'Awakenings' didn't comment yet regarding her bookings.
But what is the reason for all this? A question that I wanted to get answered when reading all this. Some high-level insinuations in the article: Nina didn't distance herself from mister Putin over the war between Russia and Ukraine. Insinuations that Nina is not independent, but at the side of Putin.
Many articles are like the '3voor12' one. Barely touching the topic. No details. Don't journalists have pride in their work anymore? Do they just want to push the headlines whilst having no idea of the real situation? No appetite to dig in deeper? To try and find the nuances?
Fortunately, with some effort, I came across a (much) more detailed article published by 'Time' with the headline 'A Russian DJ's Silence About Ukraine Is Dividing the Electronic Music Scene' (source). Since I have Nina in my follow list on Instagram, I know she is very active. However, I can have weeks to months I don't open my Instagram app, hence I totally missed the fact she stopped posting since the war started. Except for 1 post, something about 'Peace', just after the war started. In recent weeks just a handful of posts with Nina sitting in her studio listening to music. Three days ago, in 4 images (source), her reaction to the most recent events in which see essential says that she is in no way involved in politics and she doesn't want to, she is against war and violence, she wants to continue to unite people through music, she didn't choose her place of birth and she will not censor artists for her label based on country of birth or anything else. Three days old and since then more cancellations came her way.
The whole situation with Russians is very sensitive at the moment. We all know that. It seems most of us want Russians to announce publically being against Putin and his regime. However, all those who think like that don't realise what this may mean for Nina (and all those other Russians for which we more or less demand to take sides publically). As can be read in the 'Time' article, Russian artist Alexandra Skochilenko is facing 10 years of jail time for spreading fake news (source). Nina does live in Moscow, therefore directly under the control of Russians law and police. Whatever she says, can be held against her. When the Russian authorities want to do so, Nina can be thrown in jail. If I would be in such a situation, I would think twice before making a stand against the Russian regime.
However, a bunch of artists from Ukraine are actively pushing organisations to not book Russian artists that keep quiet over the war. Added to that, also non-Ukraine artists speak out and conclude that those that stay silent are ok with the brutalities of the Russian regime.
Can you believe that?
This phase we are in is beyond my comprehension. I literally don't know anymore what I should think of people in general and in particular my most beloved scene in the music space. Silence mean Cancelling? Really?
Even when past events may suggest a certain bias towards a certain side, why the hell wasn't anything done before? In Nina's case, the suggestion she may be ok with the actions by mister Putin could already be made more than 10 years ago. But, back then we didn't have this 'cancelling' culture. And now we have it, the cancelling culture, we seem to apply this to almost everything and everyone. Whether it is over the war between Russia and Ukraine, Me2, Conspiracy Theorists, you name it. The cancelling culture may have become our latest pandemic disease. Can we get some vaccine for this? Please! Let us get back to kinda 'normal' behaviours again in which we respect one another, in which we allow bi-directional civilised communication before we draw conclusions and start witch hunts.
Before I started to write this blog post, I didn't know what direction my fingers would take me. By now, I know that I'm so much against the current witch hunt on Nina. We may have influencers, something we always had before, but that doesn't mean those influencers shall use their power for political reasons. Even though one can argue that 'raving' more or less was born to take a stand against current political situations, for most of us the 'rave' is an experience of unity and pleasure and serves as a break from our normal daily lives. Nobody shall be forced to take political sides. Not you, not me, not anybody. Even when we have influence over others. And when somebody decides not to speak out, we simply cannot draw conclusions from that as well as we shall not condemn such position and for sure as hell not start a witch hunt. However serious, dramatic and delicate the topic of discussion is.
What about you?
I know the topic is super serious. When writing this blog post, at several stages I felt the need to turn this into a more positive 'story. But this topic didn't leave me any room to do so. Do you see the newest cancelling culture around you? Do you know cases that touch your heart in which people are put into the camp of the wrong without adversarial debate? What do you think about leading artists that stay away from politics? Do you think silence is wrong? Do you think musicians shall use their powers on political topics?
I hate cancel culture, it is so silly; take a look at the case of Johnny Depp, everyone was canceling him and now, everyone loves him.
You can't cancel people like they are ink on paper, and people are entitled to their emotions and feelings.
Also, I feel like if leading artists want to speak, they should speak, they have a lot of followers so it is actually good for them to but, they are also allowed not to; even though sometimes it is needed.
We all have freedom as long as it doesn't hurt someone else, that is my believe.
100% agree with you. Somehow our societies are becoming more opinionated based on little information services by the media, without the urge to try and find the story behind a statement. Johnny Depp is an example that is also sticking. Hated at first, and now the public opinion is turning again. Just because this case is everywhere and two sides of the story are presented.
I think it's because most people are like sheep and they have no mind of their own, so when something happens, they just rush to follow the majority.
So many people has had their lives ruined by it.
I literally have a lot to say about this whole Russia/Ukraine war but I don't so I don't offend anyone; a lot of bandwagon.
These days being silent is maybe the best thing to do, especially on mainstream social media. Either one loves a specific post, or one hates it. The middle ground seems to be gone.
Exactly, that is why I barely do anything on web2, I don't want to be hunted.
Some of those social media is web2, however, that doesn't mean that the whole web2 is doomed. But I understand what you say :)
The same will happen in web3 though when web3 is more mainstream, I'm afraid.
Yeah, it isn't all doomed by I see a lot of people being hunted by what they say or do, and surely it will happen too eventually.
Oh, indeed a serious topic, and I see it made you sad (or at least threw you to the serious side).
I feel for Nina and all the other artists and athletes that suffer this situation. It is their right to keep silent if they don't want to take sides. I really think that it must be challenging to be in their shoes now, as it is an additional pressure... and more than that. Maybe even their life is depending on what they will publically say.
Maybe the organisers of these festivals don't realise this fact. Or, most probably they are also pushed and live by expectations, so it becomes a vicious circle.
But, artists are not supposed to depend on their political views or if they opt not to get involved in politics at all. What we see through the example you have shown is that common sense is usually not the winner in these games. We can just imagine a world as Lenon imagined. And it is not just now and in this situation, unfortunately.
So much BS is ongoing. The organisations and other business people see what they want to see. The Time article gives a few situations that are interpreted Nina took sides already a long time ago. But they are subjective interpretations of specific events. Next to artists, indeed also sportspeople are affected in very much similar fashion indeed.
Even if we don't have that world of Lenon today, I opt for trying to create one. I do hope I'll have a dream about it in a few moments :)
That's the trend, always happening the same. Let's take some info from the past or half-true information, and mix them with the subjective interests of someone else, and suddenly the artist (athlete, actor) "took side" with its silence.
Was it successful? The dreaming part? :)
I suppose the answer will not come soon, you need to dream for a long time and make some balance in the universe 😎
I hope so, but it wasn't a dream that I woke up with. But I tend to believe I had that dream somewhere my conscious was not able to detect.
I'm actually glad to see you write something on it, because the whole cancel Nina Kraviz thing has left me feeling uneasy. I think there are people trying to view it as her trying to have it both ways which I get, but there's a glee in which people are trying to cancel her which seems wrong to me. I personally think she might be trying to stay silent to protect her loved ones.
I do think as well she is trying to protect her family, and maybe herself as well.
Those who cancel her interpret certain events Nina was part of in the past as linking her to Putin, as well as the general assumption she doesn't live in Moscow but in Berlin. For instance, she posed with a carton board of Putin a decade or so ago at a US festival. She posted a meme with Putin after Putin and his army took the Krim. She supposedly lives in Berlin, but then again (some of) her streams in Covid times are marked as she lives in Russia. Nina is not saying anything about all this. That said, Nastia, an Ukrainian artist, seem to hunt down Nina already for years and has intensified her actions in recent weeks, month(s).
All in all, one can start drawing conclusions from all this, but when Nina doesn't respond to these specific events, those who cancel her probably conclude she is on the wrong side. Though it is very subjective and based on not more than circumstantial 'evidence' (if we can even mark these events as evidence). Personally, I see all these events as having fun and joking around. Not sure why Nina is not responding to those events. But also, I understand when others are hunting you down, staying silent is maybe the best approach one can take.
I believe it's terrible what's happening to her. As well as I respect she stays quiet. I do very much hope for her she'll find a way out of all this. And I truly hope for the industry will find the love and all-inclusivity again, the foundation of everything that electronic music and specifically techno, is all about.
The same cancelling Culture made my football club loose his club despite publicly trying to beg for peace...Nini is just a part of many others who have been caught up in this crisis and it is said because all she wants to do is just write music and perform..Her country rules are not the best and there is little or nothing she can do about it. I guess organisers are solidly behind cancelling Culture as a way to pass a message.....Yes the message is passed but the side effect isn't
So true
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