Trance artists and war in Ukraine

[Uplifted]

I was really trying to obstrain from writing the politics stuff on Trancefix, but I thought these are the news I had to share with you, trance community, in order to know who is on which side.

So 13th of September the most popular russian radiostation Radio Record has announced the annual Trancemission (Трансмиссия) festival which will be held in Moscow and Saint Petersburg in November.

We can spot the famous Heatbeat from Argentina and two egyptians on the lineup - Philippe El Sisi and Omar Sherif, who have gained quite a nice reputation around the uplifting trance listeners, thanks to Aly & Fila support in FSOE radioshow.

How "nice" of these guys to support the genocide russia is committing in Ukraine!

Another artist who is announced to play in these 2 cities in the end of September is egyptian artist Ahmed Helmy - you can spot him on the "One World" festival lineup for the celebration of Suanda Music label.

If they're actually gonna perform for the terrorist country, this will undoubtedly ruin their carreer and I will personally make sure that they lose a whole bunch of their fans and will be banned from performing at major trance events.

Quick reminder - as of September 2022, 70 to 72% of russians still support the war in Ukraine and believe their lying government that the "neo-nazis have taken over ukrainian government" and that russian army is "saving russian-speaking people" from bombing themselves.

And today, 21st of September 2022, their government has announced mobilization and their president is blackmailing almost all the world with a nuclear catastrophe.

Even though we're all united by the love for music, we simply can't play on both sides here, if you know what I mean. I know that a lot of people from the Middle East artists are hating the EU, NATO and US, but supporting russia's actions, by mainly stating "USA did the same" is just ridiculous.

What are your thoughts about this? And do you know any other artists we should be aware about? I'm ready to "catch" all the foreign artists who are gonna perform for russians and destroy them.

 

[Magdelayna]

I refuse to believe that the average Russian clubber who loves Trance music supports a war that is killing innocent lives.

Over the last few years,Russia has been my biggest listeners out of the whole world on Youtube,i get a lot of Russian comments i have to translate. Im just wondering how youd feel about this if you were a producer?

I agree international artists shouldnt be playing in Russia...when the rest of the entertainment world have left it.

 

[dmgtz96]

Heatbeat, Philippe El Sisi, and Omar Sherif must be getting paid BIG money to perform in Russia.

Anyways, before anyone says "they're just performing, you don't know if they actually support Russian war crimes in Ukraine" - that's a braindead take. Money talks, and them accepting money from Russian promoters to perform in Russia signals that they don't give a shit about what Russia is doing to other people around the world. So, yes, you should boycott them.

I refuse to believe that the average Russian clubber who loves Trance music supports a war that is killing innocent lives.

Over the last few years,Russia has been my biggest listeners out of the whole world on Youtube,i get a lot of Russian comments i have to translate. Im just wondering how youd feel about this if you were a producer?

I agree international artists shouldnt be playing in Russia...when the rest of the entertainment world have left it.

You can't control who your fans are. The only things you can do are: i) voice your support for Ukraine, alienating a large part of your fanbase, or ii) say nothing and just quietly distance yourself from Russians offering you money and opportunities to perform in Russia. Either is fine imo.

 

[trancedanne]

What bothers me are promoters who still book big russian djs such as Nina Kravitz who has (as far as i know) yet to take a stand against the war. The only thing was some bullshit paper note where she wrote "peace" or something. Take responsibility and openly take a stand against the war or fuck off, thats how it should be. Fuck all the promoters who still book these russian acts, they are just as bad.

 

[dmgtz96]

^ well, if the Russian artists themselves do that they (or their family members in Russia) will end up getting suicided
I think the US had a similar controversy with Anna Netrebko, but this opera singer had actual verifiable ties with Putin and other high-ranking officials.

 

[Pokkryshkin]

Not all Russians support the war, many people just want to live in harmony with their family, but there is a dictatorship in our country. And any disagreement with the actions of the authorities leads to arrests and fines. But a lot of people still support the war because they believe the propaganda on TV. I don't think these artists support the war,But they can't even declare it openly because in our country, according to the law, it is considered a war crime and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison

 

[Hot Tuna]

Yeah, you'd probably always come down on the side of 'they should know it looks bad for their reputation'. Obviously a very deeply personal issue for the OP, but there's a difference between "they support genocide" and 'not informed enough to have an opinion'. Do you know how the news is being presented in Argentina and Egypt? We know how it is in Russia. If my nation's media was deeply biased, and [pick two countries on the other side of the world] went to war and I got invited to play a gig in one, would I spend a week researching the details or would I think about the bills I need to pay? I mean personally, I would do the former, but many people just do not engage with news and politics. They might even clumsily believe they can help deliver some positivity through music.

I haven't thought about Heatbeat since about 2009 anyway, so it's not exactly going to send shockwaves through the scene.

Obviously, nothing but love and support for Ukraine. Encouraged to hear of the apparent regaining of territory recently, but not entirely sure whether the scale of this equates to high or just cautious optimism? At least we can take heart from the fact that this has enabled Magdelayna to deliver his weekly reminder of his Youtube channel.

 

[Hensmon]

I know what you mean Tuna, but isn't this situation more straight forward and obvious? Very little research is required to know that the majority of the world thinks the war is a pointless tragedy, with no real justification. Even if they didn't agree with that, you'd really have to be living under a rock to not gauge the temperament of world politics or the music scene, and therefore making the choice to play is an indirect signal of support or apathy towards the situation. Poor decision.

 

[Magdelayna]

At least we can take heart from the fact that this has enabled Magdelayna to deliver his weekly reminder of his Youtube channel.

Sorry,i shouldnt have mentioned Youtube.

 

[dmgtz96]

I know what you mean Tuna, but isn't this situation more straight forward and obvious? Very little research is required to know that the majority of the world thinks the war is a pointless tragedy, with no real justification. Even if they didn't agree with that, you'd really have to be living under a rock to not gauge the temperament of world politics or the music scene, and therefore making the choice to play is an indirect signal of support or apathy towards the situation. Poor decision.

I'm going to have to agree with you. The Russian war has been reported on for months, and it's pretty obvious who is in the wrong here (hint: it's always the dictator).
So, "ignorance" is not an excuse.
And, if these DJs are believing actual Pro-Russian propaganda from media reported in their countries, we can still criticize them imo. There are definitely Russian sympathizers in Mexico and South and Central America, so I wouldn't be surprised if Heatbeat accepted the gig because they're genuinely pro-Russian.

 

[Julian Del Agranda]

I thought banning Russians from sports was excellent. Playing under neutral flag though is stupid.

This is good because it might get through to Russian people, make them see their country is doing horrible stuff.

So any dj should NOT play there. Same argument. I’m all with Uplifted.

 

[Bluemoon]

Had a Norwegian footballer recently who was under contract with a russian team when the war started, he was then released or his contract was terminated. Some weeks ago after over a year of not having a club he choose to go back to Russia. It was the best offer he had on the table he claimed. At first nobody condemned him, even the head coach of the national team said that sports is sports and politics are politics. But after some pressure in the newspapers he is now not allowed to play for the national team anymore.

Anyhow if i was a dj or a producer i would not go to Russia now. Money or no money its no excuse, if you have some morals you dont go there now.

But when all cooks down to the bottom of the pot, this world have no morals. The people who are famous and in the spotlight get slated for it but the normal guy on the street is just as bad lol.

Workers for foxconn jumping enmass from the roofs of iphone factorys into suicide. Nobody cares, everyone wants an iphone.

Little children dying since forever in the coltan caves in Congo that is used in all electronics around the world. Nobody cares. Everybody wants their cheap electronics.

Planned obsolence being implemented anywhere and anywhere, nobody cares and buy it anyway, meanwhile the oceans and world is struggling with more and more polution.

I could go on and on and on.

Its easy to feel and think that our personal voice, our personal actions dont matter. No matter what i do the world will be the same. And sadly that is kinda true for the most part. We are used to turn the blind eye. And i guess thats what these djs are doing.

Same as we do, every single day.

 

[Hensmon]

Yeah to be fair @Bluemoon you hit the nail on the head in a way, because let's see how many of the football fans here and around the world, who believe in a moral high ground in this situation, still tune into a World Cup in Qatar in which has well documented atrocities across a number of dimensions.

The scale is less but its purely in the name of entertainment. Will we sacrifice 1 months of TV in order to uphold the same moral values? The action is to simply not watch, so easy, with no negative consequences. If the answer is no, then is that any different?

 

[dmgtz96]

^ the problem with the above argument is that it very quickly descends into whataboutism, and you don't want to go there

 

[No Return]

Do you know how the news is being presented in Argentina

I can tell you much of it is unfavorable to Russia, but it's not aggressive coverage. I don't think we get a very good picture of the reality of the situation when we are this far away its hard to even understand the motives of Russia or the reason behind any of this madness. I have only noticed a very small portion of society that shows support or admiration for the war or Putin and that is specific right-wing subsets who find appeal in his brand of nationalistic and christian beliefs, like anti gay.

Heatbeat should read the room. I don't like the idea of trance music and people coming together to dance in Moscow, when only a few hours away people march into another persons home and bring misery. I would not feel right with it so close to me, even though I know that sounds stupid, considering these things happening across the world too.

 

[Bluemoon]

^ the problem with the above argument is that it very quickly descends into whataboutism, and you don't want to go there

Its not whataboutism, im not trying to discredit anything at all.

I even wrote in the beginning of my post that i absolutly dont respect the djs who go to russia.

Im not trying to excuse any of them.

Just trying to say this kind of behaviour is everywhere around us in normal daily life. We are so used to turn the blind eye.

If this happend 50-60-70 years ago these djs could problably not even return to their homecountries being marked traitors forever.

That its happening today in this time and age is in all honesty not a big shock.

 

[dmgtz96]

Then let's not turn a blind eye?
Just because bad is happening everywhere and has happened everywhere including in the past, that doesn't mean we suddenly have to give up. There's no devil's advocate here.

 

[Julian Del Agranda]

Of course, many bad things happen.

A small difference though, is that Ukraine is attacked by another country. In the other examples you could say it’s aweful, but it’s up to the country itself to fix the issue.

I personally avoid countries with extreme bad politics. So I will never spend holiday (money) in Turkey, Hungary, and lots of non European countries.

I do however have an iPhone. It reminds me of a scene in the Netflix show “The Good Place”. The show basically raises the question: when are you a good person? When would you be good enough for ‘heaven’ ?

 

[dmgtz96]

Of course, many bad things happen.

A small difference though, is that Ukraine is attacked by another country. In the other examples you could say it’s aweful, but it’s up to the country itself to fix the issue.

I personally avoid countries with extreme bad politics. So I will never spend holiday (money) in Turkey, Hungary, and lots of non European countries.

I do however have an iPhone. It reminds me of a scene in the Netflix show “The Good Place”. The show basically raises the question: when are you a good person? When would you be good enough for ‘heaven’ ?

Well, my response to those questions is never and never, Humanity is flawed and everyone does fucked up shit, but that doesn't mean I can't take a stand against obvious injustice.
I don't call it out to get Internet clout or whatever, I call it out because I can see genuinely that what Russia (and, by extension, these DJs) is doing is wrong.

 

[brandonl]

I feel it's unfair to attack all Russian citizens. Many of them don't support the war at all and are being prosecuted for it by the government. As for dj's doing gigs in the country, i would say it's better to not go there and play and take a stand against the government, obviously some of them are choosing to do so.