Ten Walls responds after being dropped from Ibiza line-up following backlash

It’s a story we thought we heard the last of but it appears as though the controversy surrounding Lithuanian producer Ten Walls is far from over. The producer infamously came under fire by the dance music community last year after making highly controversial and homophobic comments on his personal Facebook page. In the Facebook post he referred to homosexuals as “people of other breed” in a vile and unwelcome rant. The unpopular opinion shared on such a public platform was a costly one for the career of the producer as major festivals such as Creamfields and Sonar swiftly dropped him from their line-up.

Following the strong backlash, the controversial DJ offered what many would call a lukewarm apology and premiered a comeback single featuring transgender vocalist Alex Radford through Lithuanian LGBT organization LGL. His choice of collaboration raised eyebrows as many considered it a cheap ploy to make amends and revive his career. Although many people found his words unforgivable he embarked on a comeback tour around Europe earlier this year playing small dates and most notably received a July booking at one of Ibiza’s most popular nights, ‘Circoloco‘ at DC10 on July 4. However, the booking proved to be problematic after prominent members in the industry, including Pearson Sound, Seth Troxler, Midland and Ellen Allien strongly questioned why the disreputable producer was booked at such a respected event like Circoloco. Pearson Sound called for all the other acts on the line-up to pull the show, with Midland, Eats Everything, and Soul Clap among the artists who have also spoken out against the booking.

The strong opposition to the booking prompted the legendary club to drop Ten Walls from the lineup with a statement that read: “Ten Walls will no longer be playing at Circoloco next Monday. Circoloco and DC10 Ibiza exist due to values of equality and freedom and we deeply regret any offense caused by this booking.”

Ten Walls has now responded in a less controversial and quite respectful fashion, saying his thanks to the promoters for thinking to book him in the first place, and thanking fans for their support. He stated:

“First of all I would like to say thanks to Circoloco for the invitation. However, my performance was canceled, as a number of DJ’s refused to play on the same stage with me. I do understand the pressure Circoloco has experienced and support their decision. Disappointments and anger won’t find place in my life. I will never give up creating and performing my music, that has been everything to me, since I was 5 years old. Keep it up and see you all equalized in upcoming gigs. Peace / TW”

It seems as though some members of the industry are not yet ready to forgive and forget and the Circoloco event will go on without the Lithuanian producer. Although Ibiza is a place of love and tolerance, this is one instance where one producer’s lack of the aforementioned has cost him much more than he could have ever anticipated.