The Global Music Diplomacy Initiative
Kremlin and its chanson propaganda puppets, FACE & Noize MC and some thoughts.
The Global Music Diplomacy Initiative made headlines when U.S. Department of State and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken launched the initiative on September 27, 2023 by performing Muddy Water's "Hoochie Coochie Man" (1954). This is problematic itself, considering the scandals of the Biden administration (Hunter Biden`s sex trafficking charges etc.) and Blinken singing ‘‘Gonna Let a Little Girl, Take Me By The Hand’’. The initiative aims to promote diplomacy and democracy through music worldwide and ‘’to ensure that music remains an indelible part of our culture around the world’’ (Enos, 2023). And by using music:
‘‘as a diplomatic tool globally, the initiative will leverage public-private partnerships to create a music ecosystem that expands economic equity and elevates the creative economy, ensures societal opportunity and inclusion, and increases access to education’’ (Enos, 2023).
The initiative will also have an American Music Mentorship Program ‘‘which will see Recording Academy professionals and members provide mentorship opportunities to international participants’’ (Enos, 2023). Morgan Enos for an article for the Grammy Awards highlights some aims:
‘‘Arts Envoys to Travel to the Middle East, People's Republic of China.
· Herbie Hancock, along with Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Ensemble at the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA), will be performing in Jordan in October to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1963 Jazz Ambassador tour of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
· The Herbie Hancock tour will then travel to Saudi Arabia for a four-day Arts Envoy program – the first of its kind between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Ten American Bands to Travel to 30 Countries Starting in October Through American Music Abroad; AMA Academy Cleveland to Host Young Professional Musicians from Ukrainian Diaspora.
The Fulbright Program, the United States' flagship international academic exchange program, will collaborate with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to create a new fellowship opportunity for foreign scholars’’ (Enos, 2023). One can predict how democracy and all of the above will be played out because YouTube and Google are part of the initiative. Not only is the United States intensifying educational and governmental interest in music but music studies.
Kremlin, Chanson and Music Censorship : Ukraine Invasion.
Russia`s invasion of Ukraine is a war on the Western World. Putin claimed Russia isn`t:
‘‘fighting the Ukrainian people," Putin said in a speech days before the war's first anniversary on Friday. Ukraine "has become hostage of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, which have effectively occupied the country’’ (CBS News, 2023)
The Levada Center, which is considered as ‘‘Russia's only legitimate independent pollster, has conducted monthly polls since the beginning of the invasion that have consistently indicated public backing of over 70%’’ (Hnizdovskyi, 2023). Furthermore, Russian musicians such as Timati, Olga Buzova, Polina Gagarina, Zivert, Lyubov Uspenska, Sergey Lazarev, Ani Lorak, Stas Mikhailov, Anita Tsoi, Larisa Dolina -just to name a few. Not only are these artists well known in Russia but the Slavic and Baltic region. Latvia for example has the largest Russian minority in the European Union, making up around 25% of its population. One of the key genres for generating support from the Russian public for Putin has been the strategic use of chanson music.
Anastasia Gordienko explains that the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine has been supported by chanson ‘‘giants as Stas Mikhailov, Denis Maidanov, Nikolai Rastoguev, Vika Tsyganova, Aleksander Novikov, Aleksander Marshal, and Grigorii Leps’’(Gordienko, 2023,p.160). Chanson is an important genre for Russians specifically for the older generations, specifically, Russians over 30 years of age. It divides into these thematic categories: city romance, war, immigration and blatnaya pesnya (criminals' songs). In the 1990s Russian music industry started to label blatnaya pesnya`s (criminals' songs) as Russian chansons in order to remove negative associations with the criminal world. Songs of this genre mostly discusses the urban underclass and the criminal underworld. Russian chanson star Stas Mikhailov has supported Putin`s imperial move as he justifies that:
‘’Russia…is liberating our brothers from [so-called] ‘people’, who can`t govern it [Ukraine]…At the moment, we must unite and support our president, because virtually all of the ‘progressive west’ has declared war on him, and consequently, on each of us’’
Tsyganova in her open letter to Putin characterised the war as ‘‘God`s work’’: Here [in this war] the Great triune Rus’[Russia] resurrects…We are Russians, [and therefore,] God is with us!’’ Deeply rooted in Pan-Slavism, then, these performers` validation of the unprovoked violence and death in Ukraine rests on Russia`s ideological opposition to the west, its messianic role in the Slavic world, its spirituality, its patriotism, and Putin`s special mission- all themes that both the chanson and Russian propaganda have consistently exploited for decades’’ (Gordienko, 2023,p.160)
The use of music in Russian propaganda has been a strategy for decades. Not only through chanson but Estrada music. Since the so-called ‘Third Period’, Marxist musicologists such as Georg Knepler alongside soviet regime have valued music purely for its social function. It only makes sense now that the The Global Music Diplomacy Initiative was revealed. It`s a reaction to Russia`s intensification of the use of musicians for propaganda and Ukraine War. Whilst, chanson stars flourish economically under Putin`s wings, some younger generation of musician`s are taking a stand against this regime.
Russian Rap Music : FACE and Noize MC.
It is well known that the Kremlin regime labels anyone expressing oppositional values as a ‘foreign agent’. The aim is to discourage oppositional voices from speaking as anyone labelled as a foreign agent faces potential legal problems. It also ensures effectiveness of propagandic channels such as Channel One Russia and Russia 1 (which every night religiously shows Vladimir Solovyov). However, there is opposition from Russian artists, particularly, in the rap scene. For example, Morgenshtern, Oxxxymiron, FACE and Noize MC. FACE has openly condemned the war in Ukraine and expressed for Rolling Stone that ‘‘If democracy can win in Ukraine, then our people can fight for our own freedom…That’s one of the reasons right now that Russia invades Ukraine’’ (Arterbury, 2022).
FACE`s one of the most famous songs is ЮМОРИСТ (Humorist), 2019. This song caused controversy in Russia. It`s not surprising at all when considering the anti-Kremlin lyrics. The song was released in February, 2019. Almost a month after Russian`s celebrated Christmas, as the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on the 7th of January. FACE expresses:
‘‘If Santa Claus is Russian, then he will bring the war;
Jokers and humourists have ruined our country.’’
Prediction or not, after two years Putin invaded Ukraine on 24th February, 2022. The chorus specifically addresses censorship:
‘‘Gold on my wrist, I'm a humorist,
You tell a bad joke, and then you hit the blacklist.
Sovereign no-mercy, although I seem pure,
The sky is for planes and censorship for the artist’’
Noize MC has condemned the Putin regime since 2014 and has actively supported Ukraine. One of the most provocative songs is Всё как у людей (2019) which tells the reality of Russian society. Famous rappers Timati and Guf released a music video/propaganda video - which caused great negative reactions from the public. The music video for Всё как у людей (2019) became one of the most liked videos on RuNet quickly. FACE released his most political album so far Ничего хорошего (Nothing Good) (2023) last month (1st Sept., 2023). With songs such as ‘‘Твоя страна’’ (Your Country) and ‘‘Человек - Россия’’ (Human - Russia). All songs on the album are protesting Russian propaganda and society.
Similarly, Noize MC has released protest songs this year. In April 2023 he released the song ‘'Кооператив «Лебединое озеро» (Cooperative «Swan Lake»).
The tittle references Cooperative Ozero which is a society/dacha cooperative, linked to Putin`s inner circle.
The tittle also references the the coup of August 19, 1991 when Soviet state television played Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (1877) on loop. Sometimes soviet media played Swan Lake (1977) for many hours in order to delay making a major announcement. But it has also become a symbol of protest of the invasion of Ukraine. Aleksandra Arkhipova explains that "in the late Soviet times, this ballet was a symbol of all of the deaths of the Soviet leaders, and so that's why it became a sign that we are waiting for Putin to die" (Aronson, Mielke and Deliso, 2022). Noize MC protests by singing:
‘‘Where have you been for 8 years, you fucking nonhumans?
I want to watch the ballet, let the swans dance.
Let his grandfather shake in trepidation for the ‘‘Lake’’.
Fuck off the screen, Solovyov - let the swans dance’’
The music video features multiple clips of Putin and Noize MC infers Putin to be the grandfather, hinting at Putin`s death. He sings with raspy aggressiveness, very reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. Even the jumper he is wearing is reminiscent of Kurt Cobain`s most famous stripped red jumper, which was copied by designer Takahiro Miyashita (this is a grunge blog, a reference one way or another was bound to happen!!!)
Slava Ukraini !
