Hi friends,

You were many to cheer me up this week - and I really needed that energy. The indie community is wonderful in so many ways. Thank you! And I particularly liked the kitty story under Ghost of Rucker’s post, it really made me laugh!

Because, yes I’ve been going through a bit of a down period (again), and I just received the news that my uncle passed away, after 100 wonderful years on this planet.

Cheers to him. Eskerrik asko, tio. This one is for you.

Love, Mitxoda

Sometimes, words online fade like smoke. But every once in a while, one post burns through the noise. Aliènor wrote about a simple yet unsettling moment:

Michael Nero, an artist with 619 followers, posted something. Twenty-four hours later: no likes, no comments, no shares.

Just silence.

Her question wasn’t about vanity metrics. It was about meaning. “Do people think this is an isolated incident, or just the usual FB madness?”

Because what she described isn’t rare anymore. Songs muted. Posts removed. Accounts disappearing, without warning, without context, without a human face to answer for it.

A quiet censorship spreading behind the curtain of “community standards.”

Freedom of expression, religion, and art, these are not luxuries in our today’s lifes.

They’re the foundation of creativity itself. And yet, in 2025, these freedoms are being silently rewritten by algorithms.

They decide which songs stay, which voices fade, and which messages are deemed too risky for reach. We’ve mistaken automation for fairness. We’ve accepted that art can vanish for reasons no one can explain.

But if freedom becomes a filter, then creation becomes compliance.

And that’s not independence, that’s surrender.

Aliènor wrote something that stings:

“The fact that nobody seems to care or at least expresses concern, lets me question the honesty of the much invoked ‘solidarity’ of the Indie community.”

We speak often about support, community, family.

But when one of our own is silenced, shadowbanned, or erased, how many of us truly react?

It’s easy (and so necessary!) to celebrate success, harder to stand beside someone when they’re censored, misunderstood, or gone overnight.

Solidarity means more than sharing playlists.

It means showing up when silence hits hardest.

And then, as if to prove her point, it happened again. Just as these words were being written, Storm Kingdom reported that Joe Booe, one of the most generous connectors in the indie world, had all his pages suspended.

No warning. No explanation. Just silence.

Joe has been the bridge for countless artists, a curator, a supporter, a believer in the kind of community that algorithms will never understand.

When people like him vanish from platforms, something in the indie bloodstream slows.

It’s a warning sign.

Because when those who amplify others are silenced, the entire network of voices weakens.

Aliènor asked:

“Independency… what does it mean? Independence from record labels and companies only?”

Being indie was never just about rejecting contracts. I think It was more about agency, owning your art, your story, your message.

Independence in 2025 means standing against invisibility.

It means building our own systems, our own bridges, our own stage, where no algorithm can mute us. If platforms won’t protect artistic freedom, then the indie world must. Don’t you think?

We can’t fix the system overnight. But we can remind each other that connection is still the most powerful form of resistance.

Every time you comment, every time you share, every time you simply listen, you’re helping a song survive. Again, not for the numbers, but for the meaning.

Because algorithms don’t build communities.

People do.

I see today’s text as a statement, from every artist, listener, and dreamer who still believes that music is communion, not content.

We refuse to let silence win.

We stand with Joe Booe, with Michael Nero. We stand with every voice muted without reason.

Let’s be the storm that restores sound.

Le Salon Indie de Mitxoda
Fridays, 4pm CET (Brussels Time), live on OTAT247 / Listen on Mixcloud

Tracey Crawford returns with Empty Spaces, the follow-up to her acclaimed EP Rosemary (inspired by the Kennedy dynasty). This new release dives into the fragile threads that connect people in intimate relationships. After two collaborative albums with Uned Drydan (Eric Baker & Tom Parsons), Tracey explores fresh sonic textures, unveiling a new side of Subtlety and leaving us wondering what she’ll create next.

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“Indie isn’t a genre. It’s a heartbeat.” When one rhythm stops, the others must carry it.

When one voice is silenced, the others must sing louder.

Let’s make sure the world still hears us.

Together.

Take care,
🖤 Mitxoda

END 😆