“A lie within a lie within a lie” – Psychic TV

After days and several emails back and forth of vague promises without any specificity and no direct or specific responses to my concerns (and seemingly an attempt to run from the issues by refunding my money and not answering my questions), and at this point with well over a dozen corroborating accounts, I feel no choice but to turn to the public sphere to address the mounting concerns I have uncovered regarding Flesh Prison (FP) or Mith (M).  After speaking with artists on the label, distros having made major purchases, and individual customers,  I no longer have questions so much as I have statements of facts:

1. Multiple artists have not received copies of their work, nor supposedly promised royalties for sales of said work. Requests to be shown sales and refunds records, both of which are accessible within the bandcamp and squarespace platforms, have remained unaddressed. In at least one incident the artists were met with M simply exiting a group chat with members rather than answer questions regarding these issues. 

2. Multiple distros have not received their orders, and at least 2 have received incorrect or incomplete orders. There are at least 2 instances of distro orders being shipped to incorrect addresses. One of the only distros to have physical copies of orders still received blank or poorly dubbed copies. More individual orders are missing than have been received, and until Tuesday 8/03 with an IG story post which contradicts prior statements to customers, multiple people were told there was no way to properly account for an order being shipped. This does beg the question, why would you make that post after telling persons like myself you couldn’t provide proof of shipment? The most recent development has been a distro being told their tapes were part of a professionally duplicated batch and after being told that tracking was impossible, this parcel could not only be rerouted (Canada Post will not allow this) it could also have tracking (again, an impossibility). Another customer was told their package was sent for $7 without tracking – which begs another question as FP was charging $15 for shipping. Where are the other $8? 

3. Every order received has an issue with dubbing – blank sides, tracks at the wrong speeds, almost 50 seconds of a recording being cut off to fit a shorter tape, etc. This isn’t to mention the poor printing quality of the covers (seemingly home printed) which at this point with everything else and considering the market costs of the tapes feels like a major slight to the visual artists involved.

4. FP posted on Instagram on 7/30/2021 about a USPS worker telling them about the likelihood of demagnetized tapes. I have ran cassette labels which shipped and have personally purchased (at least count about 1200, yikes) cassette tapes from all over the world for a decade now, and have never experienced this issue nor heard of any other instances of this happening. I spoke to the owner of one of the larger cassette tape manufacturers in the USA about this theoretical issue and they said that in their decades of working with the cassette media this has never been a mass issue – one or two scattered instances is a possibility, but dozens of instances, seemingly completely erasing supposedly dubbed tapes? “Practically impossible. No way.” was the conclusion. Moreover, the story about the demagnetizing tapes is not only practically impossible per a discussion I had with a professional in the cassette manufacturing industry, but the “source” appears to be not a USPS worker but rather just a customer guessing in a message about why their tapes could have been blank.

5. M has a history of labels with reports of prior issues (Electric Voice) and there have been other unconfirmed reports of issues involving crowdsourced funds being misused in the past. While obviously these instances and the circumstances surrounding these instances do not immediately give reason to be skeptical or critical of someone (we all have our past failures and struggles), in the context of what is going on at this time these do resemble a pattern. This also really pokes holes in the “we are a new label” excuse as while the name and the styles may be different, running a label is running a label and one doesn’t just forget everything they knew prior when entering a new project of a similar nature. And if the others involved are inexperienced, the onus still remains on M to effectively manage this project. There are also mounting concerns about the legitimacy of MS using the name and work of Genesis P Orridge and the awareness of Gen’s daughters and the estate of Gen as it manages the legacy of the artist and projects involved. 

My personal experience is that initial suspicions arose after seeing a vague reference made online to the launch of the label Flesh Prison (FP). It perked my ears as it came from a generally friendly person who doesn’t often “talk shit” as it were. I made a mental note of it. Still, I placed an order myself as I was invested in some of the artists on one of their comps and some of their other releases. Around that time I got a strange DM to the page for my podcast Harsh Truths that was rather awkward as it was asking if I would let them essentially play FP material on the show, when A) my podcast has been on hiatus and it says so on my profile and B) listening for just a few minutes would tell you that is not the format of my show (which is long-format interviews).

Oh well, people are weird I thought. After a few weeks, when they made a post that I commented on asking about the status of orders, as I thought it was strange they were talking about new releases when it seemed like nobody was getting their stuff, FP DM’s me (saying to DM them?) and assures me the order has been shipped. I noticed my initial comment had been deleted, and so my skepticism grew. And then came the post about the tapes demagnetizing and so I began to ask questions of other customers and industry professionals. Then I emailed FP with my concerns. What follows is documentation of that exchange.

In between our emails, FP went on to announce yet another pre-order for this coming Friday 8/06/2021, which they have since taken down and said will not be going forward. However, the refunds promised in posts and stories since do not seem to be forthcoming for many if not all of the others who I have confirmation of requesting at the time of this writing. Many, from artists to distros to individuals are met with a host of vague excuses, claims, and in my case an attempt to contextualize the issues of FP with M’s personal issues – and while I and anybody would sympathize with anyone’s personal struggles, those have nothing to do with thousands of dollars collected for a stated purpose and exchange that has not happened, and of which prompt refunds are seemingly not materializing.

Something happening once is a coincidence, twice is bad luck, three times is probably just incompetence… but well over a half dozen confirmed times, with a growing number of additional cases and a host of tack-on issues? That points alarmingly to a pattern of deceptive practices coupled with bungling communications at best, and predatory behavior with outright criminal-level fraud at worst. 

In two responses to my messages, FP felt the need to iterate that they are “not a noise label.” Though that may be, FP do seem very comfortable taking the money of those in the noise community, and have seemingly nothing to point towards fulfilling those purchases in good faith. Blank tapes and home-printed j-cards are not the way to reward your customers. Outright lies and manipulation of facts points to a cynical contempt and disrespect for the community. 

So where do we go from here? 

“In the distance there is truth…” – Psychic TV

UPDATE 8-07-2021:

FP/M have fulfilled some refunds, including one distro, but only after they sent them tracking for a package that was very obviously not going to them but to another region of their country altogether (and whose recipient confirmed receiving more blank and faulty cassettes). And yet another distro confirmed their tapes are mostly blank or faulty.

FP/M appear to have abandoned their demagnetization story, scrubbing it from their post, and now claim this all to be the result of a professional duplication error, but offer no proof of having purchased professional duplication services and have made contradictory claims to artists that they in fact did not have tapes professionally dubbed. This of course fails to answer questions about why they said they paid $7 for shipping that they were charging $15 for, why contradictory information was given regarding tracking, etc.

FP did not have physical pre-orders on Friday, but proceeded to advertise digital sales and to announce a release going on sale on 8/23 – a release which bears Genesis P. Orridge’s name – which, unless things have drastically changed since Thursday, M does NOT have permission to use. Gen’s daughters do not want unauthorized releases or merchandise with Gen’s name or likeness. FP’s posts claim to be giving 50% of the proceeds going to them.

They also continue to push digital sales of the compilation “The Shaft, The Blade, The Tip of the Spear” – a release whose visual artist and graphic designer has requested their art no longer be used due to never being fully paid for their work and for the unpleasant experiences they had with their audio art as well.

Since the initial publication of this article I have had a number of persons come forward with more order horror stories and also personal stories regarding the past fraudulent behaviors of M, some as recent as April and some stretching back to their hometown days. Many have asked that details be withheld at this time for fear of reprisal. It is not enough to say the depth and extent of some of these allegations are shocking and reach much further than those detailed in this article that focuses on a particular instance in a small community of artists.

Lastly, the author wishes to address claims that this all is the result of “the haters” or some kind of targeted attack based on the identities of those affiliated with FP. In terms of “the haters” – the only Haters that I am aware of are GX and his crew and that’s just the name of their prolific project. The information presented here is not sour grapes, but evidence of a pattern of wildly cynical manipulation of persons whose money was misused if not outright stolen. Furthermore, I outright reject any direct or indirect inferences of bias or bigotry within this work. In none of my writing will you find any reference to anyone’s identities, and that is because nothing I have laid out has anything to do with anyone’s identity. My interest in presenting this evidence of patterns of deceptive behaviors and practices is in the spirit of accountability and the protection and preservation of an underground community I find refuge in as a person whose background and experiences place me firmly on the fringe. These communities often provide safe haven for persons otherwise disenfranchised by the dominant culture, and in order to foster a spirit of resistance to those outside forces of oppression we must hold ourselves accountable when there are issues amongst us, regardless of who is perpetuating the wrongdoing. Accountability is an intersectional and ever-ongoing effort to be made by each and every one of us.

Speaking personally, I do not believe that any of the artists and perhaps any of the affiliated “staff” aside from M were aware of what was happening, and I do sympathize with the uncomfortable situation they are now finding themselves in. That’s the problem with a confidence scheme – the victims are often unaware and even a part of the machine with which the scam perpetuates itself. I do not place blame or suspicion on those people until evidence suggests otherwise.

A few weeks ago Jay and I did a little Q&A based off some listener submissions. It was fun, and lighthearted, and I think that is the best way to send the podcast off on until its time to return from hiatus. I hope everyone enjoys. Thank you for listening. Until next time (and there WILL be a next time…) 

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For almost 30 years now, John Wiese has been a prolific and profound artist within both the sound and visual arts, operating as a solo act and also within influential acts such as SISSY SPACEK and LHD. John sat down with Roman last October for a comprehensive look at his trajectory and the motivations for his work.

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This month Roman is joined by the UK’s Dean Lloyd Robinson of KNIFEDOUTOFEXISTENCE. Shortly after completing a weekend tour of the No Coast USA, the conversation here captures us exploring Dean’s pathway into and throughout noise, the mental health struggles of being an artist, and more. An excellent listen as always!

You can support Knifedoutofexistence at: knifedoutofexistence.bandcamp.com
You can support Dean’s label Outsider Art at: outsiderart.bandcamp.com
Follow us on Instagram: @harshtruthspodcast
Follow us on Twitter: @harshtruthspod
Support us monthly on Patreon: patreon.com/harshtruthspodcast 

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April quarantines bring May… well, quarantines, but luckily this month we are joined by MIKE SHIFLET in a great discussion about punk and DIY ethos and how transformative those can be not only in the world of experimental music, but beyond.

You can support Mike at: mikeshiflet.bandcamp.com
Follow us on Instagram: @harshtruthspodcast
Follow us on Twitter: @harshtruthspod
Support us monthly on Patreon: patreon.com/harshtruthspodcast

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