Nirosta Steel Shares Statement After Social Media Activity Raises Concerns

Steven Hall, the veteran musician and Arthur Russell collaborator known as Nirosta Steel, experienced breakout success this year with the release of My Skyscraper, an album comprising recordings from across the past four decades, on the boutique indie label ULYSSA. But increased attention has led to increased scrutiny.

Last week the Twitter/X user @simonwestgate posted alleged screenshots of Nirosta Steel's account on the Chinese social networking app Xiaohongshu, aka RedNote. In the screenshots, Hall appears to be following numerous accounts belonging to children and AI-generated shotacon accounts. Shotacon is a Japanese slang term referring to attraction to young boys or manga and anime featuring erotic presentations of pre-pubescent or pubescent boys. After the screenshots began to circulate, @simonwestgate posted a follow-up indicating that Hall had deleted his Xiaohongshu account.

Hall addressed the social media situation today in a statement shared with Stereogum:

I want to give my response to some speculation swirling around on the internet recently.

A few weeks ago my husband told me people on Rednote were getting into my music, so I went on to take a look and followed a bunch of accounts quickly without paying much attention to what they posted.

I was really surprised when a friend sent me screenshots of accounts I followed. I did not realize that a few of the accounts contained highly toxic content, so I deleted my profile. Those accounts don’t reflect my interests in any way.

I understand the concern, but I can’t help thinking that ageism and homophobia are also factors in the discussion surrounding me.

I apologize to any of my fans who were upset by this misunderstanding. I need to be more careful on social media. I ask that you have a little grace for an old hippie who doesn’t know his way around the internet.

Tone Glow, the publication run by Chicago-based music journalist Joshua Minsoo Kim, booked Nirosta Steel for a pair of shows Sept. 18 and 19 at the Chicago music venue the Hideout. Kim announced Wednesday that Tone Glow was canceling those shows. When reached by Stereogum, Kim declined to comment on the show cancellations. Shortly after the Hideout shows were canceled, Nirosta Steel announced a show Jan. 29 at Chicago's Lincoln Hall, promoted by Audiotree.

Nirosta Steel is scheduled to perform four New York shows Sept. 10, 11, and 12 at Night Club 101, followed by festival appearances at Pygmalion, Woodsist, Le Guess Who, and Pitchfork Music Festival Paris.