Music

Nina Kraviz Played A ‘Plague Rave’ In Italy, And People Are Justifiably Pissed Off

"Big DJs and promoters are going to destroy dance music and night clubbing for years to come."

by Jared Richards  24 August 2020
nina kraviz rave italy slammed photo

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DJ Nina Kraviz has played a set of legal outdoor raves across Italy and Greece, and attracted criticism for it as COVID-19 cases rise in both countries, and the median age for COVID-19 infections drops below 40 in Italy.

In video of Kraviz’s set last week at Clorophilla Club in Castellaneta, Italy, the DJ. dances plays to a packed, definitely not-distanced or masked crowd, who stand and film her.

The video circulated on Twitter over the weekend thanks to @MootIreland, an Irish arts collective.

Italy and Spain had previously re-opened nightclubs and bars in July, but last week both closed them again due to rising COVID-19 case numbers. Kraviz’s gig in the video was on August 13, one day before the closure was announced.

Kraviz and other big-name DJs have been criticised for swooping in to make money while smaller DJs and clubs struggle to survive this period.

“She and other big DJs and promoters don’t need the money,” wrote Moot on Twitter.

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“Big DJs and promoters are going to destroy the [sic] dance music and night clubbing for years to come if they continue to play these plague raves which have caused upticks anywhere they’ve been held.”

“Clubs/bars will remain closed for months more because of these one-off, big-money events where the headliner is getting tens of thousands of euros to play. Most DJs subsist on smaller club night wages (if possible even) or on what they can organise themselves.”

Other DJs such as Amelie Lens, Patrick Topping, Charlotte de Witte, Dax J and Loco Dice have also been criticised for playing events across Europe. Twitter account Business Teshno has documented those playing gigs.

As Attack Magazine contributor Harold Health writes: “A particularly contentious issue is the stature of the DJs who are playing at these events; these are people who earn a substantial amount of money for their appearances – and there’s a general feeling that of all the people in the clubland food chain, these are the least likely to actually need the money….”.

“DJs have a choice to take those shows or not. Promoters have a choice, DJ agents have a choice. And if that choice is being made purely on financial grounds – with no regard for safety or the possibility of causing untimely deaths – then I simply can’t square this with what I feel is the ethos of the house and techno scene – egalitarianism, tolerance and above all, community.”

Kraviz has responded to the criticism by reposting a comment saying they hope she dies — awful, but also far from accountable. Last year, Kraviz defended herself from criticisms of cultural appropriation over her cornrows and song ‘Ghetto Kraviz’.