That too
Dancing Chechens: not too fast and not too slow. — © epa
Away with speed metal, gabber, samba and the very slowest slows: the ultra-conservative government of Chechnya wants to protect its own cultural heritage by banning music that is too fast and too slow. The Minister of Culture takes this drastic measure after consultation with dictator Ramzan Kadyrov.
In a statement the website of the Ministry of Culture states that one’s own cultural heritage must be promoted. “Adopting the music culture of other countries is unacceptable,” said a statement on Telegram. After consultation with supporters from the cultural sector, it was therefore decided to limit the tempo of music: it should not sound too fast or too slow. The tempo of a piece of music in Chechnya must be between 80 and 116 beats per minute.
In concrete terms, a song may not be faster than, for example, ‘Get lucky’ by Daft Punk, ‘Highway to hell’ by AC/DC or ‘New Rules’ by Dua Lipa, which all have a tempo of 116 bpm. Something like ‘Pump up the jam’ by Technotronic (125 bpm) or certainly ‘Europapa’ by Joost Klein (above 150 bpm) is completely out of the question. On the other end of the spectrum: it shouldn’t go slower than 80 bpm. To illustrate: ‘Hey Ya’ by Outkast, ‘Willow’ by Taylor Swift and ‘November rain’ by Guns n’ Roses remain just above that threshold.
The Ministry of Culture does report that a ‘transition period’ has been provided. Local artists have until June 1 to adjust their songs. If they do not do so, the songs may no longer be released to the public.
The Russian newspaper Meduza points out a few practical problems: the measure also bans Chechsenia’s national anthem, which only reaches 76 bpm. And the popular pro-Russian march ‘Den Pobedy’ (‘Victory Day’) is also too fast at 126 bpm.
Chechen President Kadyrov is doing everything he can to shield his country from Western influences as much as possible. He likes to present himself as an unconditional supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kadyrov therefore sent his troops to Ukraine to fight on the side of the Russians.
2024-04-08 14:11:55
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