Music, politics and Ukraine

 

From the peaceful anthems the late John Lennon wrote to the protest songs Nobel prize winner Bob Dylan famously penned to the anti-apartheid tunes that were composed over the years, there is a long-standing tradition of musicians getting involved when political tensions reach a critical level. Today, as Russia is effectively invading neighbouring Ukraine, many voices are rightfully standing up in response:

• Many Western artists of Eastern European descent have been quite vocal about their shock as we watched Ukraine be attacked in such violent fashion by its much larger neighbour. Regina Spektor, a Russian-born American with Ukrainian roots, was one of the first to publicly react to the tragedy, expressing on social media her profound sadness at such brutal — and utterly avoidable — violence;
• Pussy Riot, the Russian militant punk band that got involved in many a fight in the past, were back at it this time, as one of their members was in prison for a recent protest. The group introduced a new NFT collection, entitled UkraineDAO, to help raise funds for Ukraine. A smart, musically topical, tech-savvy answer to the on-going military onslaught;
• Petr Limonov, a Russian-British pianist and conductor, led a flashmob of no less than 200 classical musicians, many of Eastern European descent, on London’s Trafalgar Square this Sunday. This Music for Peace gathering, meant as a direct protest to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, played music by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, who is currently believed to still be in Kyiv…
• Sting released a new acoustic performance of his 1985 classic song “Russians” on social media.  This beautiful and subtle ballad aptly delves into our common humanity in the face of adverse forces. The musician was the first to admit he did not ever think — much less hope — that this song would ever become relevant again in such a manner…
• When Nick Cave announced he was canceling upcoming shows in Russia and Ukraine, as many other artists did, he found himself in the middle of a sensitive controversy. A few years ago, he had chosen to perform in Israel despite many people calling him out on that decision given the local government’s actions against Palestinians. The singer replied that he saw a distinction between the sudden and spectacular invasion of Ukraine and the complex, long-lasting Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sadness does not erase sadness…