Backxwash has announced the cancellation of a planned performance at Berlin's annual CTM Festival in response to Germany's crackdown on pro-Palestine solidarity.
Today, the artist shared that her festival performance slated for February 1 was cancelled "in solidarity with the strike in Germany."
Organized by a "broad coalition artists, filmmakers, writers and cultural workers based in Berlin," the Strike Germany movement calls on "international cultural workers to strike from German cultural institutions," specifically taking issue with said institutions' "use of McCarthyist policies that suppress freedom of expression, specifically expressions of solidarity with Palestine."
"Over 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7th, 2023. We cannot ignore Germany’s support for Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people," the artist's statement reads in part.
Backxwash also announced that as a result of the CTM Festival cancellation, a planned performance at Denmark's Northern Winter Beat festival has also been cancelled "since it was financially contingent on us already being in Europe that weekend." You can find her complete statement below.
In 2022, Backxwash completed her horrorcore trilogy of LPs with HIS HAPPINESS WILL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING, which Exclaim! named among the Best Albums of 2022.