The Baron of Techno has spoken: Dave Clarke (read our interview with Clarke about how he curated a stage at Tomorrowland here) will not DJ in America while Donald Trump is in the White House. An artist who isn’t very active on social media, Clarke took to Facebook to let his fans in the U.S. know about his decision not to renew his work visa. Though he says he had a kerfuffle with an unprofessional booking agent in the States a while back, the techno troubadour says not playing in America is his way of staying true to his ideals.
“The big picture is undoubtedly political,” Clarke wrote, “I simply cannot consider coming to the US professionally when there is a Misogonyst Narcissist Racist President in office, and to be fair maybe my work permit would not be renewed due to his ‘Hire American’ policy.”
He added, “This is not punishment for those that love my music but a decision that I base on my intuition. So all you lovely people that send me requests to come into your beautiful country please do not take this personally. Those of you in the US or born there that make great music I will still support you and book you.”
Fans willing to cross the northern border can see Clarke next month when he plays Coda in Toronto on February 3 and Igloofest in Montreal on February 4.