Merge Records sever ties with Ian Svenonius after he admits to being “completely inappropriate to women”

"We see and stand with all those who have come forward and all those who haven’t," the label said

Merge Records have cut ties with Ian Svenonius after he admitted in a since-deleted statement last week to a history of being “completely inappropriate to women”.

Svenonius, who has been part of such bands as Make-Up, Escape-ism, Nation of Ulysses, and Chain and the Gang, posted the statement on social media last Friday (July 24) before it was later deleted. His personal Instagram page has since been made private.

In the deleted post, Svenonius acknowledged his own role as a “guilty party” after citing “the trash fire burning through underground music [which] is long overdue” (via Pitchfork).

“I want to use this forum to say that I support people speaking out for the eradication of abusive predatory modes and also that I am absolutely one of the guilty parties,” Svenonius wrote. “That, through my narcissism, egotism, and thoughtlessness, I have acted the creep. That I have made people I cared about and respected feel terrible, have been completely inappropriate to women.

“To anyone I have made feel bad or uncomfortable, I sincerely apologise and throw myself at your mercy,” he added. “I always believed that I was a revolutionary and now my revolutionary act is self-immolation.”

Merge Records announced yesterday (July 29) that they have now severed ties with Svenonius and have pulled “his catalog from our webstore, physical distributors, and streaming/download services”.

“The information and allegations surrounding Ian’s post last Friday have been illuminating and disheartening,” Merge added in a statement posted to Twitter, which you can see above.

“We see and stand with all those who have come forward and all those who haven’t, and we will continue working and listening to do our part in making the music community one that is safer and more inclusive for everyone.”

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