Yesterday, the artist MYLK posted an accusation of sexual assault by Aero Chord from an incident in 2014. The accusation recounts when Aero Chord flew to visit MYLK at her home in London and made repeated unwanted advances on her after multiple, clear responses of “no,” as well as begging her for sex saying “do it for a friend.”
I’m done being silent. @aerochord
Read: https://t.co/n5R3Qo9d5O
— MYLK (@mylkofficial) June 25, 2020
MYLK first came forward about all of this in November 2014 directly after the incident, stating clearly, “I have now kicked him out of my house and booked him a hostel to stay in the UK for the last 2 days, after he has sexually assaulted me on the first day, i couldn’t handle having him around and felt very unsafe/uncomfortable.”
Both MUZZ and Feint, also Monstercat artists, have corroborated MYLK’s story, and many other Monstercat artists have made posts supporting MYLK, as well.
proud of you! I can remember at the time how frustrating it was being told that nothing could be done but i’m glad progress is being made! and for anybody doubting: i was in the skype call where i heard him basically admit to it… https://t.co/I6BuIgyJow
— F E I N T (@FEINTmusic) June 26, 2020
Massive love to Yuki 🙏🏽 Im so happy you’ve come through with this. I remember our phone calls about it and trying to figure out what to do & feeling hopeless. I’m honestly just so relieved you’ve spoken out and people can finally see what happened. Big love to you sister ❤️ https://t.co/LX3nIjf5CQ
— MUZZ (@MUZZHQ) June 26, 2020
Monstercat, the label that has released the vast majority (if not all) of Aero Chord’s tracks responded to MYLK on Twitter, but at time of publishing, have not shared the statement anywhere else on their own social channels. A statement is still forthcoming, though, as Monstercat reached out to both MYLK and Laura Brehm privately, “Senior leadership are actively working on policy development on how we can handle this situation as well as any future reported artist harassment issues that may arise. We are going to publicly respond with action and next steps once we have finalized this internally. I just want you [Laura/MYLK] to know I’m not ignoring your tweet but want to have actionable steps in progress instead of leaving this as a general statement.”
In the statement, the label says that they’ve ended their working relationship with Aero Chord and “need to do a better job of creating an environment where [victims] feel safe and can come forward about issues.”
Our statement: pic.twitter.com/sTZCfaLslW
— Monstercat (@Monstercat) June 26, 2020
A team member was made aware of the situation when it happened but “was told that there was nothing he could do at the time.” Then again in April 2017, the same team member was again approached by MYLK “to be made aware of the details of the incident.” According to the statement, police were handling the case and she requested that the label keep the details of the incident confidential.
When we reached out to Monstercat directly, they echoed the sentiment, saying, “A staff member was made aware of the incident in 2014 and again in 2017, however the full nature, details and screenshots of conversations were only obtained by Monstercat’s senior management in the past 24 hours. We acted as quickly as we could and are currently working on policies for how we are handling this situation, as well as any future reports of harassment involving artists that we have released music with.”
Along with MYLK’s accusations, others made connections, whether legitimate or otherwise, to Aero Chord’s next single following the incident, “Saiko.” Allegedly, “Saiko” was a retaliation track against MYLK, with lyrics repeating “I love you / I hate you / I love you / (I hate you)” and “kill you / kill you / kill you / kill you.” Along with the title (Saiko = Psycho), the track art depicting a “psycho” woman wielding a knife and an innocent teddy bear, and the timing of the track (5 months after the alleged incident), the imagery is damning.
Monstercat responded that they were “not aware that Saiko was written in retaliation to the incident.”
“At this moment, we are actively working on additional policy development to ensure the rights of all individuals within our community are protected and supported,” Monstercat continued, echoing their response to MYLK. “This will incorporate diversity and inclusion, hate speech, harassment, bullying, and sexual misconduct of any kind and will be shared in the coming days.”
Aero Chord posted a response to the accusations from MYLK, calling it “crazy.”
“It is an absolute fabrication and a blatant attempt at slander. It’s truly unfair to hold someone guilty in the court of public opinion without any proof and in fact the police looked into this year ago and found no evidence of any wrongdoing.”
— G R I N D (@AeroChord) June 26, 2020
According to MYLK’s statement, however, the case is still technically open.
Photo via Aero Chord