Matoma has bought three billboards along the road to Coachella, in an effort to raise awareness and funds for Ukraine, as the country fights against Russia’s invasion.
The Norwegian DJ had initially purchased the billboards along the i-10 East freeway – the road hundreds of thousands of festival-goers pass on their way through the desert to the festival site – to promote his new music.
However, with the ongoing war, he felt it would be more meaningful to use them to highlight Music Saves UA, an organisation providing relief to those in need in Ukraine.
In an Instagram post showcasing the billboards, Matoma wrote in the caption: “Only a few years ago, I played at a festival called Atlas in Ukraine to a beautiful crowd of people, just like those attending Coachella this year.”
“Those days of freedom are sadly gone for them, and now bombs rain down on their cities. These same people from Atlas Festival have converted their nightclub to a humanitarian centre, providing supplies and care for those who need their help,” he continued.
“This is one of the most inspiring things I’ve seen and gives me much needed hope. This club was once filled with free, happy people, and now driven with a true purpose of goodness it rises to a new, greater purpose. This is the power of music and love,” he concluded.
Matoma is best known for his songs “All Night,” in collaboration with The Vamps and “I Don’t Dance” alongside Enrique Iglesias.
Matona made his debut in 2015, and Rolling Stone declared him the “leader of tropical house’s next big wave”.
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
