Moddi and Russian orchestra drop Pussy Riot song

Moddi - Pål Moddi KnutsenModdi - Pål Moddi Knutsen.Photo: Gitte Johannessen / NTB scanpix

Artist Moddi and Arkhangelsk Chamber Orchestra are refraining from playing the Pussy Riot song “Punk Prayer” in Kirkenes on Thursday after a warning from the Russian Consulate General.

– I have as a rule that I do nothing that risks the safety of other people. I can make informed choices that put me in danger, but to expose others to it is not okay, says Pål “Moddi” Knutsen to NRK news.
He says to the channel that he was aware that there would be challenges with playing Pussy Riot “Punk Prayer”.
In a court order from 2013 the video with the song was listed on an official Russian list of extremist materials, explains Consulate General in an email to The Independent BarentsObserver. The ruling covers both sound and images that may offend believers.
– This means that the orchestra members formally could come to break Russian law if they assisted in a performance, it is stated in the email.
Consulate General emphasizes that Moddi is entitled to decide which songs he wants to play, but the government asked the organizers of the concert to ensure that the Arkhangelsk State Chamber Orchestra “learned what kind of activity they engage in.”
“Punk Prayer” is on Moddi’s album “UnSongs” with twelve songs that at one time or another have been banned, censored or suppressed in various parts of the world.
On the official Facebook page for the concert it says that the goal of the album “UnSongs” is to show that music will not stop.

 
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Tod