Content notes: white supremacy, Confederate flag, KKK, neo-Nazism
Dominick Fernow, aka Vatican Shadow/Prurient is known for collaborating with neo-Nazis and fascist artists and releasing their work on his label Hospital Productions. He has received a lot of support from platforms Resident Advisor and Pitchfork, and the club Berghain and its label Ostgut. To catch up, see the open letter with more information here, and the list of 258 signatories to the open letter is here.
…we ask you to join us in calling upon Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, and Berghain/Ostgut. These platforms should address their support for and collaboration with Dominick Fernow, because they have directly contributed to the worrying rise of fascism within music.
Dominick Fernow never responded to the open letter. Recently Fernow emerged from his silence, by releasing a split EP on his own label Hospital Productions, with a German band called – we kid you not – Genocide Organ. Their album is called Carte Blanche, with song titles like True Son, Layer of Bodies, and Pro-Serial Killer. The refusal from Resident Advisor, Pitchfork and Berghain to publicly address why they actively supported him while knowing about his fascist ties, is a big part of why he feels comfortable enough to make a comeback.
Genocide Organ is widely known for their support of the KKK and releasing neo-Nazi music. Dominick Fernow and Becka Diamond’s label Hospital Productions intends to bring Genocide Organ to Japan in April 2024, for an all-ages festival cohosted by a group called Nuclear War Now!
Many of Genocide Organ’s albums have been banned from sale on Discogs because of their white supremacist content, going back to the late 1980s. Genocide Organ has released KKK and neo-nazi music, like their 1998 album Klan Kountry, with cover art featuring a Confederate flag. Some song titles from other albums include White Power Forces, Woman Is Meat, and John Birch Society, referencing a far-right extremist group in the US.
Dominick Fernow is also releasing a new album on his own label under the name Prurient. He continues to receive a lot of support from well-known artists within dance music, many of whom claim progressive/leftist politics, such as TelefonTelAviv, Nico Vascellari, Volvox (Unter), Silent Servant (Hospital Productions), and Berghain/Ostgut affiliates Shifted and Phase Fatale.
As we wrote in the open letter, we ask you to join us in calling upon Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, and Berghain/Ostgut. These platforms should address their support for and collaboration with Dominick Fernow, because they have directly contributed to the worrying rise of fascism within music.
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