Anu Shukla

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Anu Shukla

I am a UK-based journalist with bylines in The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Telegraph, Reuters, Open Democracy, The New Arab and local news media. I have also written about music and culture for publications including Resident Advisor, DJ Mag, MixMag, VICE and more.

DJ Mag •

Smash Repression: how Italy’s free party scene is fuelling a protest movement

Basslines pierce the air and coloured smoke swirls skyward as the sun breaks through the clouds over Lake Garda in Brescia, Italy. It’s Saturday, 10th May, and in the lakeside town of Desenzano, thousands of peaceful protestors have gathered around stationary rigs for the Garda Street Parade. They’re preparing to march alongside sound system crews Circus Bandits and Red Moon Music in the name of social justice and against state repression.  It’s a scene that’s becoming increasingly familiar in I...
DJ Mag •

Peshay leads fight against "copyright abuse" following legendary mix takedowns

A Change.org petition was launched by Pye and Peshay earlier this month, calling for an end to “abusive copyright strikes on legacy music”. As well as linking to a video showing Shazam-based evidence that ‘Links’ was created by The Chameleon, aka Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton, the petition calls for penalties to be given for repeated fraudulent copyright claims, and for reforms to YouTube’s counter-notification process. At the time of writing, the petition has been signed over 2,300 times.  S...
DJ Mag •

Play inspired by 1992 rave at Castlemorton debuts this summer

A play about the infamous rave at Castlemorton in 1992, told from the perspective of the area’s locals, is set to premiere in the nearby town of Malvern this summer. The Last Free Rave is the work of first-time playwright Rachel Tobin and will debut on Saturday, 9th August at the Coach House Theatre as part of the Malvern Ink and Curtains Festival. Tobin, who's lived on Castlemorton Common for 20 years, told DJ Mag that the production opens with voice recordings of locals reflecting on the free...
The Guardian •

‘His delivery cut through class barriers’: Moby, Mala and other musicians on working with Benjamin Zephaniah

Tuesday marks the 67th birthday of the late Benjamin Zephaniah – revolutionary poet, playwright, musician and fearless voice for social justice – following the inaugural Benjamin Zephaniah Day held over the weekend at Brunel University. But while he is widely celebrated for his work in literature and activism, Zephaniah’s influence on music remains relatively overlooked.Emerging from the dub poetry scene, Zephaniah channelled personal experiences of systemic racism and state violence into intell...
Resident Advisor •

Massive Attack, The Avalanches transmit music to the moon for new London art installation · News ⟋ RA

Massive Attack, The Avalanches, Klein, Pussy Riot and more have transmitted pieces of original music to the moon as part of a new art installation in London. Piccadilly Un:Plugged, a free public exhibit running at Piccadilly Circus through March 8th, is the brainchild of Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian—founder of NASA’s International Space Orchestra and a designer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Rolling Stone UK •

How music is responding to right wing populism

I never quite anticipated witnessing firsthand the impact of far-right ideologies on some twenty-something-year-olds in the UK. Hearing young people rant about ‘unskilled migrants’that are ‘leeching off the system and giving nothing back’? It’s a reality that hit home when the offspring of an old friend sent me a flood of right-wing propaganda – including an invite to a far-right march and a collection of grimy mugshots of alleged Asian grooming gang members.Further conversation revealed deep-se...
openDemocracy •

Turkish pushback survivor wins landmark case against Greece

A Turkish asylum seeker and pushback victim has won a legal battle against the Greek government after taking her case to the European Court of Human Rights.The landmark victory announced Tuesday concerns Ayşe Erdoğan, a 34-year-old maths graduate, who was 'pushed back' to Turkey from Greece in 2019. There she faced persecution and imprisonment over alleged links to the Gülen movement, which Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, holds responsible for a coup attempt in 2016. This event trigger...
Resident Advisor •

'So important': UK spiking campaigners and survivors respond to introduction of specific law · News ⟋ RA

A new UK law making spiking a specific criminal offence was announced last Wednesday, July 17th. Spiking—the act of putting alcohol or drugs into someone's drink or body without their consent—is already a crime under sections 23 and 24 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. However, the new legislation, outlined in the Labour government's manifesto, should "strengthen the law to improve the police response to spiking," according to the official briefing for last week's King's Speech.
The New Arab •

Greek pushback victims heard for first time by the ECtHR

Strasbourg - Greece has been interrogated by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) about its “systemic pushback” practice for the first time and the verdict concerning the cases of two asylum seekers, who were sent back to Turkey, is due to be announced in the coming months. The controversial Greek practice has been slammed for being a “de facto border state policy” by Amnesty International, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, and by numerous other rights groups. Th...
Resident Advisor •

Berlin venue Oyoun forced to take loan as Senate funding body blocks €80,000 project fund · News ⟋ RA

Berlin cultural centre Oyoun may face bankruptcy if the city's Department of Culture continues to block an €80,000 project fund. Senate funding authority Lotto Stiftung Berlin has withheld the money since February, forcing Oyoun to take out a €54,000 loan to cover the costs of music and dance exhibition GADAG, which took place across March and April. "It seems to be a politically motivated move to push us into bankruptcy," Oyoun CEO Louna Sbou told Resident Advisor. "Especially now that we've taken a loan to pay artists and staff."
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