In summer of last year, Lithuanian producer Marijus Adomaitis, better known by his stage names Ten Walls and Mario Basanov, made public homophobic remarks on his personal Facebook page that drew an onslaught of criticism from the dance music community. He was dropped by several major festivals, let go of by Coda Music Agency and was on the receiving end of several public remarks by other artists in the underground scene who made a point of both canceling gigs with him and distancing themselves from his remarks.
In September, the producer famous for his release of “Walking With Elephants,” issued a public apology via DJ Mag that denounced his comments and declared his stance against homophobia. At the time, the apology drew further criticism from many who perceived it to be insincere and insufficient to redeem the damage done.
Now, Marijus has announced his return to touring, with ten (not coincidental) tour dates throughout April and the beginning of May. They are mostly all in Europe, with an additional date in Abu Dhabi. In a likely unsuccessful marketing attempt of underscoring his new opposition to homophobia, he has decided to name the ten dates back on the road as an “Equalized Tour.”
You can see the entire tour program below. So far the social media posts announcing his return to the road seem to have been mostly met with positive reception from fans, despite a few claiming that negative comments had been deleted on Facebook.
It will be more than interesting in the next few weeks to see how the dance community reacts to Ten Walls return as an artist and touring performer. From experience, the dance music scene has great memory and is not likely to forget or forgive the remarks he made, especially considering how important the all-inclusive aspect of our scene is, and its all-too-important roots within the gay community.
