Joe & The Shitboys have accused The Great Escape of “ethnocentric bullying” after the festival dropped the Faroe Islands as its lead country partner over concerns over its whaling practices.
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The festival, held in Brighton and Hove each May, announced yesterday (September 24) that they would be withdrawing the Faroe Islands as their lead country partner – having only revealed the partnership earlier this month.
It followed concerns over whaling in the Faroes – part of the Kingdom of Denmark – by local groups.
The festival shared that, though it was dropping the partnership, they were “proud” to have worked with Faroese artists over the years, and would continue to collaborate with musicians from the territory. “We believe the contributions of Faroese artists should not be overshadowed by this matter, which bears no relation to their artistic work or their significant achievements,” they said in a statement shared to Instagram.
Now, Faroe Island punk band Joe & The Shitboys have responded to the announcement, calling The Great Escape’s decision “ethnocentric ignorance”, “harmful” and “not inclusive in the slightest”.
Writing on Instagram today (September 25), frontman Fríði Djurhuus said: “After being reached out to by multiple anti-whaling activists, and the recent decision by The Great Escape to drop the Faroe Islands as their main partner due to our whaling practices, I, Joe, would like to publically state my position on whaling in the Faroe Islands, also known as “the grind.”
“I am a Faroese vegan. Of course I don’t like the grind. But we can’t get rid of the grind without considering what is going to be its replacement. it’s industrial meat, not a plant-based diet.
Djurhuus went on to compare whaling to the production of industrial meat, writing: “The whales are free their whole lives. Their death, while following a stressful chase, is quick.”
“There are no greenhouse emissions except for a few small boats that go sailing less than 20 times a year,” he continued. “The meat is distributed evenly and freely to those participating in the hunt, the locals, and institutions such as retirement homes. Nobody is doing it for profit, and even though it’s not illegal, it’s severely frowned upon to sell your share.
“If there is deemed to be an excess amount of whale/dolphin meat in a community, the pod is let go. That being said, even if it’s a very small amount of whales being killed by the Faroese, it’s still more than what the Faroese people eat. I hope they lower this amount.
“If you remove the grind in the Fare Islands, you increase industrial meat consumption. If you remove the grind in the Fare Islands, you increase the suffering in the world,” he wrote.
Djurhuus went on to say: “Pro tip to anyone judging another country for something you’re not accustomed to: do your research, ask a local. The internet is in your pocket 24/7.”
NME has reached out to The Great Escape for comment.
Whaling in the Faroe Islands has raised controversy previously. In 1989, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society commissioned a public information film voiced by Anthony Hopkins to raise awareness of the subject, while the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been campaigning against whaling in the Faroes since the 1980s.
Meanwhile, The Great Escape was criticised by some artists and fans earlier this year due to Barclays sponsoring the festival. Barclays has been accused of investing in companies that supply arms to Israel, and as a result over 125 artists pulled out of the festival, including Soft Play, Picture Parlour, and Alfie Templeman.
Others, like Big Special, played but donated their fee to a Palestinian charity, while Kneecap played but have consistently expressed their support for Palestine. Member Móglai Bap told NME in June, “If your income depends on this life and you’re a touring band, then everything’s connected to one of these companies in some way. Ideally, if we had the money, we’d just boycott everything and sit in the house and tweet all day.”