Giegling cut from London's Sunfall Festival over sexist remarks from co-founder Konstantin

German DJ collective and record label, Giegling, have been axed by London's Sunfall Festival following a raft of sexist comments made by DJ, producer and label co-founder Konstantin.

Konstantin made the comments in an interview with German music magazine Groove, saying he felt women were "disproportionately promoted" in the dance music industry and that "women are usually worse at DJing than men."

Following the explosive comments, Sunfall organisers have cancelled an afterparty at London's Bloc club on 12th August at which Konstantin and Giegling’s Leafar Legov were both set to appear. 

In a statement, Sunfall's parent company The Columbo Group said:

“Out of respect for the incredible female talent we have with us at Sunfall this year, it’s with regret we announce the Giegling night session will not be going ahead.

“We are shocked to hear of Konstantin’s recent comments, and disagree with them completely.

“Joint day and night ticket holders will be notified via email, if you do hold a Giegling ticket email us at [email protected] for more night session options.”

Following a widespread backlash on social media — in which The Black Madonna and all-female collective Discwoman expressed their disgust at the comments — Konstantin has released a statement to RA. 

In the statement, Konstantin argues that he has was misquoted and says he feels "deeply sorry" about the debacle — read it in full below. 

“I feel deeply sorry about the words that have been printed. These words are not a direct quote and are in my opinion misleading.

“I actually learned to DJ from my friend Sarah and of course I don’t think women are worse DJs than men. I completely regret what was said in that private conversation with the journalist, where she did not appreciate my bad sense of humour and my habit of taking opposite positions to challenge people, even if it sometimes goes way beyond my own opinion.

"What was written does not reflect my opinion nor is it at all anything other people from the label would ever say or feel. I accept the journalist’s point on the boy’s club. But we want women to be involved and we were always trying to involve women in our action.”