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Moddi and Katrine Schiott (Photo: Sean Gallagher / Index on Censorship)
Speaking during his Unsongs set at Hoxton Hall benefit in support of Index on Censorship on Wednesday 7 December, Norwegian musician Moddi warned that censorship can’t be thought of just happening somewhere else.
“Wherever there is power, there is censorship,” he told the audience.
Moddi’s path to his latest album began with a phone call from Norwegian singer Birgitte Grimstad, who told him of Eli Geva, a song about an Israeli officer who refused to lead his forces into battle in 1982. The song had not been performed for more than 30 years. That conversation led him to create Unsongs, a collection of 12 songs that had been silenced in 12 countries.
Jodie Ginsberg, Index CEO, introduced Moddi by reminding the audience of the importance of freedom of expression, something that most take for granted. She told of Zunar, who faces over 40 years in jail for drawing cartoons lampooning Malaysia’s prime minister and his wife, and Baharani Nabeel Rajab, who faces up to 15 years in jail for tweets and retweets.
The evening of censored music also included covers of works by Kate Bush, which had been banned during the first Gulf War by the BBC, and Pussy Riot, which Moddi was dropped from a Norwegian playlist after inquiries from the Russian consulate.
Guests were greeted with a complimentary beer courtesy of cult craft brewery Flying Dog on arrival.
Where else but in London could you spend a night in a Victorian music hall, listening to a Nordic folk singer play #forbiddensongs
— Will Steele (@willsteele) December 8, 2016
.@moddimusikk And so I statrted digging and this is what I found @pussyrrriot‘s Punk Prayer pic.twitter.com/SEC7USnVj3
— Index on Censorship (@IndexCensorship) December 7, 2016
Freedom of expression, the basis of all other freedoms.Thank you @moddimusikk @IndexCensorship for reminding us what matters #forbiddensongs
— Alison Wallace (@alisonw_ECFR) December 7, 2016
.@moddimusikk #forbiddensongs @hoxtonhall pic.twitter.com/J5ZG7zb7sm
— Index on Censorship (@IndexCensorship) December 7, 2016
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