After Burn Reggae Scandal, “Lowworm” Singer Defends Himself
“As a Swiss, you should only make folk music”
A concert by the Bernese dialect band “Lawworm” protested by the audience at a concert by the Bernese dialect band “Lawworm” due to “cultural appropriation”, so the concert had to be stopped. Now the band concerned speaks – and responds to the allegations.
Scandal due to reggae performance in Bern: The dialect band “Lawworm” had to cancel their concert last Monday at Bern’s scene pub Brasserie Lorraine after visitors complained to the operators. « During the concert, several people freely approached us and expressed their displeasure over the situation. It was about the theme of ‘cultural appropriation,’ writes the restaurant on Facebook. ‘Cultural appropriation’ refers to the adoption of aspects and components of one culture into another.
Visitors will be intrigued by the fact that the members of the white Swiss band played reggae music, a style of music originating from Jamaica, and from Senegal and The Gambia dressed in blonde dreadlocks and colorful clothes. The brasserie would like to apologize to all visitors “where the concert caused bad feelings,” the operators continued to write. A discussion event on this topic is now planned to be held in the restaurant in mid-August. However, when asked by Blick, Brasserie Lorraine declined to comment.
“had a good mood”
The band concerned now speaks for it: “We’re totally upset,” says “Lowworm” singer and frontman Dominic Plumetaz (27) to Blick. “When we played our first song, there was a good atmosphere. People were happy, no restlessness was felt,” he says.
During the holiday, the local operators would have informed them about the complaints. “After this announcement, we were uncomfortable and we decided to cancel,” Plumetaz says. “Unfortunately, the critics remained invisible and we could not communicate with them, which we deeply regret.”
However, the musician dismissed the allegation of “cultural appropriation”: “I understand that some people are sensitive to the subject, but music thrives on a mix of cultures,” says Singer. “We’ve been mixing elements from the reggae, pop and indie worlds into our sound for years and it’s never been a problem.”
Plumettaz’s grandmother was black
He and his band “Lowworm” will clearly stick to their music and style, the singer continued. “I don’t see a problem with that. We use our cultural elements in our music with a lot of respect and love and our fans love us for that,” Plumetaz says. “I also find that Too vulnerable to the unknown that they criticize us without knowing who we are. My grandmother was dark-skinned. I have slave ancestors from Africa, ”says the musician, who has Swiss and Brazilian roots.
Plumetz emphasized: “But it doesn’t really matter. Because if we separate influences and cultures so strictly, then as a Swiss composer you will generally only be able to create folk music, which is very monotonous. Will happen. “
