UK trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack have launched a new alliance in support of musicians who are facing intimidation “from within our industry” for publicly speaking out against Israel’s military violence in Gaza.
Brian Eno, Kneecap, and Fontaines D.C. are among the artists who have joined Massive Attack in this effort, sharing a post on Instagram explaining that they aim to support fellow musicians who have been threatened with “attempted censorship.”
“The scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description. We write as artists who’ve chosen to use our public platforms to speak out against the genocide occurring there & the role of the UK government in facilitating it,” Massive Attack and other artists in the alliance posted on Instagram. “Because of our expressions of conscience, we’ve been subject to various intimidations from within our industry (live & recorded) & legally via organized bodies such as UK Lawyers for Israel… Having withstood these campaigns of attempted censorship, we won’t stand by & allow other artists — particularly those at earlier stages of their careers or in other positions of vulnerability — to be threatened into silence or career cancellation.”
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The post goes on to encourage artists in need of such support to reach out to Ethicalsyndicatepalestine@pm.me. See the full statement via Instagram below.
“This collective action is really about offering some kind of solidarity to those artists who are living day after day in a screen-time genocide, but are worried about using their platforms to express their horror at that because of the level of censorship within their industry or from highly organised external legal bodies, terrifying them and their management teams with aggressive legal actions,” Massive Attack added in a statement to The Guardian. “The intention is clear and obvious: to silence them.”
Bob Vylan are among the most recent acts to be reported by the UK Lawyers for Israel, in response to the group leading a chant of “death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]” during their set at this year’s Glastonbury festival. They are also the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation for the performance.
Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap, in particular, have been scrutinized for their pro-Palestine, anti-Israel messaging at Coachella and Glastonbury. Following their Coachella performance, group member Mo Chara was charged with a terror offense after allegedly displaying a flag in support of the designated terror group Hezbollah at a 2024 London concert.
Kneecap were also under investigation for their Glastonbury performance, but police announced on Friday that no further action will be taken.
Earlier this year, Massive Attack shared a cover version of “Everything is going according to plan” by the Russian punk band Grob as part of a new immersive art installation by artist and designer Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian in London’s West End.
