Polish dance music community speaks out against anti-LGBTQ+ violence

Polish dance music community labels and festivals like Unsound, Brutaż and Oramics are speaking out.

The Polish dance music community is seeking out solidarity in reaction to a recent rise in anti-LGBTQ+ violence and propaganda.

Labels and festivals including Unsound, Brutaż and Oramics are appealing for global support in the wake of right-wing attacks and an onslaught of homophobic sentiment in Polish media.

In addition to the fascist attacks on participants of the Białystok Pride March on July 20^th, right-wing magazine Gazeta Polska has been distributing “LGBT-free zone” stickers in recent weeks, while the leader of Poland’s ruling Law And Justice party (PiS) has declared LGBTQ+ culture a “threat to Polish identity.”

Seeing as dance music is rooted in inclusion, it only makes sense that labels and festivals take a stand against this disgusting rhetoric.

Speak against violence and hate

Following these events, Łukasz Warna-Wiesławski, a spokesperson for Unsound, provided this statement to Resident Advisor.

“As promoters we need to take full responsibility for what we say and do. We’re all connected to a broader political world, whether we like it or not. Events in Białystok were reprehensible, but they didn’t happen in vacuum. We all try to create a shelter for our guests, but we can’t ever forget why we do it. It might be rare for club music to contain words, but politics are in its DNA.”

“The struggle it was born out of is still ongoing, so there’s nothing radical or controversial about standing in solidarity with the victims of violence and the underprivileged, especially if you have a platform to speak against violence or hate. We often underestimate how our world is shaped by culture and how much power we have to make it a better place. It’s just basic human decency, and it should be a norm,” he added.

Oramics is also rallying for the cause, tweeting: