Published
Fri, Jun 24, 2022, 09:00
- The gathering, which took place from May 20th through 22nd, initially booked 11 male acts—a decision that sparked backlash from local promoters and artists.
Russ Monk, cofounder of boutique Japanese festival Balance, has defended his decision to book an all-male lineup at this year's edition following widespread criticism.
The event, titled Balance +, took place from May 20th through 22nd. It initially booked 11 male artists, though one (Haruka) was replaced at the last minute by a woman (Sapphire Slows). Monk recently explained his rationale behind the curation in a statement published on the website of Mindgames, the promoter behind Balance and legendary sister festival Labyrinth.
The statement, originally in Japanese, has been translated into English by Resident Advisor. In it, Monk wrote that he doesn't pay attention to any individual artist's identity or ego. "Gender, race, religion, nationality and sexual orientation are meaningless and distracting in music programming," he continued. "My event is neither a political statement nor a political game. It is a musical game of the mind."
He continued: "Diversity and equality are both extremely important ideas, but you cannot apply macro-level idealism regarding society to every micro-level situation. Doing so could lead to a very ruthless approach that ignores context and nuance [...] However, there were people online who enforced a standard that should only be the concern of large-scale festivals."
The backlash began last month, when Mindgames posted a photo on Instagram confirming the Balance + lineup. This was a first for Mindgames, which has previously shied away from promoting the invite-only festival. On its website, the event was described as a "private gathering for Mindgames friends, staff, artists, and family." This year marked the first time tickets were available to the public.
When news of the all-male lineup broke, certain corners of Japan's electronic music scene reacted. WAIFU, a queer feminist party in Tokyo, wrote a blog post on the importance of gender politics. Berlin-based DJ and female:pressure member Mo Chan described Mindgames as a "boy's club" on Twitter, calling them out for refusing to participate in female:pressure's gender-balance survey. Days before the festival, Haruka pulled out. KEIHIN, a local DJ, tweeted in support of Haruka's decision. Monk responded to KEIHIN saying that he took the decision, not Haruka.
Haruka was replaced by Sapphire Slows, who played Balance+ unannounced. A few days after the festival, she explained her decision via Twitter. "I was prepared to be criticized, but I wanted to help future progress and unity based on the trust we have built rather than online divisions," she wrote. This was her third appearance at Balance. She said she had previously asked organisers why she was the only woman or non-binary artist on the lineup. "While I understood the organizers' non-negotiables, I remember feeling distressed at the discrepancy between their stance and the current times," she wrote.
In the same thread, the artist said she "felt an inexpressible respect from all parts of the venue" at this year's festival. In a subsequent post, she expressed support for WAIFU. Monk mentioned Sapphire Slows in his statement. "I respect her as a friend, as well as a musician. Not because she is a woman."
He added: "I know others don't think so, but I consider it patronising and deeply insulting to book an artist based on their identity. I am simply not willing to participate in such games. However, if such games are important to you, that's fine. I respect that. If that's your game, then you will find it important. Simply, my game and your game are different."
Read Monk's statement—which also mentions Terre Thaemlitz, cancel culture and William Shakespeare—in full.