A DJ Wished Ukraine Dead and Lost His ADE Slot in a Day. Roman Messer Has Played Crimea for Years and Kept His.

What did Komarov actually say?

The message that ended Komarov's Amsterdam Dance Event booking surfaced on a Reddit trance forum this week: a screenshot of a note he'd sent Ukrainian DJ Vadim Bonkrashkov, translated from Russian, calling him a "filthy Nazi" and writing that he hoped Bonkrashkov would "die in agony" along with his "entire so-called country." Komarov didn't deny it. Asked by the Dutch newspaper AD, he confirmed sending the message outright, then volunteered what actually stung: missing the trip. "I was planning to attend this event and meet artists I work with," he said, framing a canceled booking, not a death wish aimed at a colleague, as the loss worth mentioning.

Interplay Records, which had booked Komarov for a Friday, October 23 set at ADE, pulled him from the bill the day the screenshot spread. The label gave no public explanation beyond confirming he was off the roster.

Why did one DJ get cut in a day, and others haven't?

That speed is the story. Komarov is not a headline act; cutting him cost no one anything. Compare that to the names dance music has left alone for years despite documented ties to Russia's war machinery. Karel Burger Dirven, the Netherlands' honorary consul for Ukraine's dance scene, told AD the Komarov removal "should only be the beginning," adding: "I am not saying that no Russian artists at all should be allowed to come, but anyone who has been proven to have played in Crimea or at events linked to the Kremlin does not belong here."

He named Roman Messer specifically. The trance producer has performed in Crimea multiple times since Russia's 2014 annexation, and played a student event organized by Russia's Ministry of Education, according to AD. Messer draws real crowds and real bookings; nothing about his calendar has changed.

What would consistency actually look like?

ADE itself is dodging the question by design. Of roughly 3,300 artists spread across 200-plus venues this week, the festival told AD it has "no insight into the bookings," since individual labels and collectives program their own showcases, Interplay's Friday slot among them. "The line-ups can change right up until the last moment, but in any case, Komarov is no longer on the list," a spokesperson said, a statement about one DJ, not a policy.

This isn't even ADE 2026's first casualty. Dutch DJ Xamuel withdrew from the event last month after French DJ Shlomo, who faces rape allegations, was added to a different bill. Two separate controversies, two separate standards, and in both cases the response came from individuals or an outraged crowd, not from ADE setting a rule everyone has to clear.

"Anyone who has been proven to have played in Crimea or at events linked to the Kremlin does not belong here." - Karel Burger Dirven, honorary Ukrainian consul for the Dutch dance scene