San Francisco based record Label Flenser has released some high quality black and doom metal over the past year. I asked the sole proprietor of Flenser some questions about running an independent label in the current climate, and Bay Area Black Metal. Full interview after the jump. (Note: At the time of this interview, the Seidr album had not been released and the Necrite show in question had not yet taken place).
What were the beginnings of the label? When was The Flenser created and what drove you to start an independent record label? Did it evolve from a distro?
Flenser did not start as a distro. I don’t currently distribute many releases besides my own either… it’s not really what I want to do with the label. I’m a fan of dark music. I’m a black metal and doom fan. I collect records and have been very aware of labels and bands for a long time. I started Flenser because it felt like the right thing to do.
What was the first release on The Flenser? Where there any difficulties getting that first release off the ground?
The first release was Palace of Worms “The Forgotten.” A local one person black metal band that my roommate turned me on to. It actually took me a little while to find Balan, the guy behind Palace of Worms but I finally ran into him by chance. Once I talked to him he was pretty into doing the release right away.
I was lucky to have some friends help get that CD into local stores like Amoeba and Aquarius Records. Getting people to hear about my releases outside of the Bay Area was hard. Probably the biggest help was Aquarius Records’ review of the Palace of Worms record in their mailing list. But in general getting press to pay attention to you without any release history is difficult. The Forgotten did not get ton of press because I did not really know how to get anyone’s attention but it did get some significant nods here and there including a tiny blurb in Decibel.
The Forgotten is a very good record. The whole thing was recorded under very modest circumstances and sounds amazing. The song writing is very tight compared to most similar bands. I still notice new little details when I listen to it…it is dense.
The first real order I ever got was from the guy that runs the blog HSS. I have no idea how he found out about it. I guess the right people will find the music on their own in some cases.
The Flenser is a metal label specializing in Black Metal and blackened doom. Are you interested in working with bands in other genres or are you interested specifically in signing bands within the spectrum of Black Metal?
Yes in next year I plan on releasing music that does not fit into those categories but nothing is set in stone at the moment.
There are people that would not consider bands like Bosse-de-Nage and Panopticon black metal in the traditional sense. I try to think of the genres loosely and don’t worry too much about the label adhering to genre guidelines.
The Flenser is based in San Francisco. The Bay Area in general has a rich history of metal and Black Metal in particular. By signing bands like Necrite and Pale Chalice, do you see the label as sort of carrying the torch in the Bay Area Black Metal lineage?
There really is a tradition of Bay Area black metal. Von, Weakling and Leviathan all came from here and Tumult is based here and NWN is local also. All of these bands and labels cast a pretty big shadow.
I want to support local music and I like working with local bands. However, I see Necrite and the Chalice as important bands in their own right not just important bands from San Francisco.
I don’t know if or when the Necrite record would have ever come out. The record was kind of at a standstill when I started bugging them. Most of the tracking had been done for a couple of years but there was some technical problems keeping the band from finishing it so I basically bugged the hell out of the band to get it done. At one point the band would not even answer my calls…
The Flenser’s roster is small, yet incredibly solid. Would you like to sign more bands but are unable to, or are you just very selective in the artists you choose to work with?
There are definitely some releases that I have had to pass up. I do have limited resources so I have to be very selective. The roster is basically full unless something I really can’t turn down comes along. I also do have a lot of releases planned right now that are in various of states of development. In time I would like to do more releases and have a busy release schedule.
Because of the solid lineup of artists, The Flenser label has become an assurance of quality. Are there any labels past or present that you particularly enjoy and have modeled The Flenser after?
It’s a really strange time to be a label, especially a new one. Distributers are being very selective and a lot of the older metal labels are surviving off back catalog reissues and retreads while not taking risks with their new releases. The metal labels that I see as most relevant are Nuclear War Now and Profound Lore. Tumult has been very influential as well and has put out some of the most important black metal records by local bands. I have taken notice of the way other labels are doing things but I also some ideas about how I want to see things happen and I’m doing my own thing here.
Most labels that I see have started up in the past year or two are focused on vinyl releases and vinyl licensing and that is not exactly what I want to do exclusively. What is most interesting to me is releasing new music and working with bands to put out the best releases they are capable of.
One of my favorite record labels, Profound Lore, started small and, while still not huge, have become highly respected through the same quality assurance exhibited by Flenser. The label is now owner Chris Bruni’s full time job and is able to support himself on the label. Do you see The Flenser expanding in such a way, and would you ever want the label to be your full time job?
I think it is really cool the way Profound Lore started with limited vinyl releases. Those were some strong releases to build the label on. As far as Flenser following a similar path, I’m not sure things will unfold in the same way. The record industry has changed a lot in the past couple years and Profound Lore got in when the climate was a bit different. 7-8 years ago before music downloading really hit a stride was a good time to be an indie record label. Now distributers are not taking risks with new labels and some creepy distributers are making more money off label return fees than sales. It’s a strange time and the people that I know that run more established indies have seen their industry fall off and have become nihilistic about the future. I am not going to worry about this too much though. There is a need for music labels and I will just continue to function this label. It’s hard to say what the music industry is going to look like 10 years from now and I would love to have The Flenser be my only job, with the amount of time I spend with it would be nice to get paid for it, however I’m not in this to get rich.
Necrite are about to play a show with Inquisition in San Francsico. This is said to be their “last show for the foreseeable future.” Can you shed any light on this statement?
Well I can’t really want to speak for the band. But I will say that Necrite’s full length “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” was years in the making and I assume that was a pretty exhausting experience. Now Thrull, the main song writing force behind Necrite, is heavily involved in his new project, Black Fucking Cancer, and that seems to be his focus. Sometimes bands need to be put to bed for a while.
How important is it to you that your bands tour? It’s awesome that you’ll release a double LP for a one-man Black Metal band (Panopticon) and that another one of your bands (Necrite) played one of the biggest US Metal shows, Scion Rock Fest .
Black Metal does not always come off live well. If you throw a bunch of guys in corpse paint on stage at some outdoor festival it can look dumb. Bands that tour often get more attention and often sell more records. I guess touring is not a strict requirement though it is definitely preferred and most bands that I currently talking with have some potential to tour.
You’re ready to release the new full length by Seidr called “For Winter Fire” which I am highly anticipating. Are there any new releases on the horizon or new signees that you’re excited about that you can divulge at this time?
The next release will be a full length by Bosse-de-Nage. I think it perfectly represents the band and is unique to the genre. There is also a full-length by Panopticon planned which is the darkest thing that Austin has done. A lot of the bands that I have already worked with are preparing follow up releases. There are a couple new projects that will come to light too in the next year or so.
Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate people who work to give talented, challenging artists a platform for their work.
Thank you sir.
Order Flenser releases from their webstore.
Live photos provided by SF Sludge.
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