Over 450 artists sign ‘open letter’ directed at upcoming Boiler Room Australia tour

Lineup announcements for Boiler Room’s Australian appearances in October of this year have been met with local artists launching an open letter distancing themselves from the brand, which at the time of writing has over 450 signatures.

The letter comes as only the latest instalment in a global push against the promoter, who in January of this year was purchased by Superstruct Entertainment, owned in turn by investment firm KKR.

KKR is widely reported to have investments in military technologies, companies operating on Occupied Palestinian Territories and ownership of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline. Global protests and boycotts against Boiler Room have aligned themselves with the struggles of Palestinian people and of the Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders, who are First Nations people from British Columbia, Canada.

In the letter, the artists have aligned themselves in support of Indigenous peoples, specifically “those impacted by the harmful and death-making investments by Superstruct’s parent company KKR.” It lists a series of KKR investments, and refers to the firm as “implicated in the destruction of lands and people Wet’suwet’en to Palestine”, engaging in “an ongoing process of displacement and criminalisation of Wet’suwet’en people and their land defenders” as a result of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, and “complicit in the colonisation of Palestine.”

Read: Greens MP questions NSW Govt over funding to KKR-linked festivals Listen Out & Field Day

Now signed by over 450 artists, the letter comes as protests and boycotts of Boiler Room continue across the globe. Events in São Paulo and Puerto Rico have been cancelled at short notice over the last week, with artists continuing to pull out elsewhere.

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Notably, many artists who have previously played Boiler Room events have signed their names to the letter. At the time of writing, these include 2Lubly, Andy Garvey, Bria, Crybaby, dameeeela, DJ PGZ, Eden Burns, FOURA, Georgia Bird (IN2STELLAR), Moktar, Red Rey, Simon TK, Sleep D, SOVBLKPSSY, Tangela, Wax’o Paradiso and Yikes.

In a statement across their social channels, Boorloo/Perth-based DJs 2Lubly shared:

“...We stand in solidarity with artists calling for a boycott of Boiler Room and all other events owned by Superstruct Entertainment and KKR. We are strongly against genocide, colonial violence and the displacement of Indigenous people from their homelands. All of which KKR are complicit in.

The artists, the music, the culture, the audience. THAT is what makes events like Boiler Room. We have power and we should all use it to call out injustice, demand better and at the very least not support a company complicit in committing genocide against Palestinian people on their homelands.”

Signatures from these artists, each with a history of working with Boiler Room, make clear that a growing disillusionment with the brand is not limited to vocal outsiders but includes those who have been directly involved with it.

On Wednesday, c h l o e, a Gadigal Land-based DJ originally featured on the Boiler Room Sydney lineup, announced via their Instagram that they “had already removed myself from the Boiler Room lineup.” Their name no longer features on any Boiler Room Sydney promotional material.

Shows in Naarm/Melbourne and on Gadigal Land/Sydney have had their lineups shared, with a remaining show in Meanjin/Brisbane yet to have a lineup announced. These shows, as listed on Boiler Room’s website, are still set to include appearances by locals C00KIE, Osmosis Jones, Anika and Obeido.

In recent weeks, Boiler Room has shared highlights from a variety of its shows across South Asia, in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Within posts promoting all of these events, commenters have raised questions about the timeliness of these highlights, particularly in countries with contexts of colonisation and occupation, at such a sensitive time for the brand.

For Australia, a country whose colonial context is regularly considered in its underground’s most progressive and forward-thinking spaces, a similar sentiment of distrust runs through this open letter and artists’ posts accompanying it.

Read: Activist interrupts Boiler Room's NYC event amid growing protests

To close, the artists’ letter shared this sentiment:

“Dance music, at its root, is an artform of community, resistance, and survival. We refuse to let our culture be weaponised for genocide,” it read.

Mixmag ANZ has reached out to Boiler Room for comment.

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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.