Chechnya knows very well what kind of music it wants. And not in any vague, ethereal or metaphorical way. No. Your government is so clear about what kind of music its citizens should listen to that it has decreed what is probably one of the most misleading regulations in the far-reaching and already baffling history of music: the Russian republic has decided to ban music. All jobs not in the 80 to 116 bpm range (beats per minute), leaving out many hits from genres such as pop or techno. Reason: You don’t want songs that are too slow or too fast.

It depends on whether a song is good or not tempo.

Pay attention to the rhythms. If you are planning to travel to Chechnya in the coming months and want to listen to music, it would be useful to carefully examine your Spotify list. HE tempo There it became a state matter. So much so that the Minister of Culture Musa Dadayev has just announced that all musical, vocal and choreographic works must comply with a well-defined bpm band.

Artists of the Russian Republic will have a little less than two months, until June 1, to adapt their songs to the new Chechen criteria. Otherwise, the Ministry of Culture warns that the demonstrations will not be allowed to be held in public areas.

80 to 116 bpm. And to show how determined the authorities are to impose speed limits on music, they included a perfectly measurable guideline in their announcement. Dadayev stated that from now on all the pieces should be framed. tempo Between 80 and 116 bpm, which leaves out hits from some of the most popular genres.

For example, the Ableton company states that hip-hop generally goes from 60 to 100 bpm, but there are some that extend this range as high as 140; HE house goes from 115 to 130 and techno From 120 to 140. Many pop songs will not be included in the scale.

Bad news for Swift, Rosalía or Drake. There are platforms like Song BPM that allow you to go beyond genres and calculate data for each song. And a quick check shows that Chechen rules exclude some hit songs by international artists. Both extremely fast and slow.

For example, Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ would be 128 bpm; Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)” clocks in at 127 bpm; Drake’s ‘God’s Plan’ stays at 77 bpm; and ‘Catalina’ by Rosalía, at 78 beats per minute. Even the Rolling Stones couldn’t be saved. The classic ‘Paint It, Black’ would go wild at 159 bpm.

But why? To limit Western influence, which he considered “polluting.” To this end, Chechnya, a Muslim-majority Russian republic led by the controversial Ramzan Kadyrov and the subject of very serious complaints due to the persecution of homosexuals in the country, has decided to make it difficult for international musicians with foreign rhythms.

How do they collect TASS or Moscow TimesThe aim here is that all the works heard and danced there are in accordance with the “Chechen mentality and understanding of rhythm”.

The Minister of Culture emphasizes: “It is unacceptable to borrow the musical culture of other peoples”: “We must present the cultural heritage of the Chechen people to our people and the future of our children. This includes all moral and ethical values. Living standards of Chechens. In the absence of Beyoncé or Swift, Kadyrov in traditional folklore There are ballads and songs that we see ourselves dancing to.

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in Xataka | Paul Sacher was one of the richest men in the world in the late 90s. Profession: orchestra conductor