Spacedust International Records is an independent record label formed in 1999 with the intent to provide the best in outsider and experimental music. After years of being courted by record labels and after becoming ever more disillusioned with the music making ‘industry’ Mark Anthony decided to create Spacedust International Records in order to release and distribute all future releases by his band Platonic. The initial concept of recording your own music and then releasing it completely independently had always appealed to Mark Anthony and indeed this was the way that many of Anthony’s favourite bands had started out. Without any outside capital investment the label stuttered in its first few years whilst Mark Anthony was given a rude awakening into the world of managing his own record label.
The label revolves around Spacedust Studios where all of Platonic’s releases have been recorded. Inspired by other great labels like SST and Dischord it was felt that artists on Spacedust needed the freedom to create music without having to watch the clock in the studio and to be able to have the freedom to experiment whenever they wanted to. Although the location of Spacedust Studios has changed over the years it continues to be operated out of Mark Anthony’s home featuring primitive analogue equipment along with cheaply purchased digital upgrades.
Recorded between 2000 and 2001 ‘A Spiderweb Of Deceit’ was the monumental debut album by Platonic and the first release on Spacedust International Records. Featuring 19 songs the album was released in April of 2002. Initial press coverage was positive and the limited press run of 5’000 copies sold steadily but nothing prepared the label for what was around the corner. The band was offered an afternoon slot on the Sunday of the Le Havre festival in France in July 2002, which attracts approx. 20’000 gatherers each year. Although virtually unknown outside of the United Kingdom Platonic stormed through their set featuring several numbers from ‘ A Spiderweb Of Deceit’, a couple of new songs and traditional set closer ‘Sister Cobra’. Although the crowd was light to begin with by the end of the set numbers had tripled with some revellers making it onto the stage during ‘Sister Cobra’ and prompting the festival organisers to stop the Platonic set early. It was a tremendous first outing for the band abroad and word now began to spread across the globe about Platonic.
Once the band returned from France the band started to get more offers to play club shows in Europe and this also led to Spacedust International Records now getting offers from countries across the globe offering to distribute their records. Sensing an opportunity to get the message out about Platonic and Spacedust production began again for ‘A Spiderweb Of Deceit’ and to this day over 25’000 copies have now been sold of the album worldwide. With the club shows and favourable press comments nearly 8 months after the original release of ‘A Spideweb Of Deceit’ Xfm and Rough Trade Shops picked up on the album with Xfm playing ‘Broken’ regularly on their late night shows and Xfm and Rough Trade Shops jointly awarding it Album of the Week in December 2002. This acknowledgement led to greater demand and a number of days were spent by Spacedust International Records trying to cope with the extra demand and interest in the band.
2003 saw Platonic play further club shows in Holland, Germany and Italy and the band made another festival appearance at the Avant Festival in Spain. Spacedust Studios were also given a make over with some of the money made from ‘Spiderweb’ sales and work began on a follow up release. Originally planned as an EP ‘Reign On’ was eventually released as a full length album in April 2004 and featured 11 new songs and 3 songs left over from the ‘Spiderweb’ sessions (‘Super Charge’, ‘Black Lodge’ and ‘Electric Worms Feed My Brain’). In promotion for the album Mark Anthony only played one solo show in Paris, France and started again to become disillusioned with the music ‘industry’.
Platonic and Spacedust International Records continued to turn down more lucrative offers from bigger labels to release their music and Mark Anthony spent most of 2004 focussing on non-music related matters. In 2005 Platonic released the ‘Sister Cobra EP’ which featured 3 tracks from the original 3 line ups of Platonic and a new song in ‘Cosmic Freeway’. The limited print run of 5’000 copies sold out within a week of release and ‘Reign On’ continued to sell steadily although more modestly than ‘Spiderweb’.
2006 and 2007 were barren years for Platonic and Spacedust International Records with the record label deciding to put all its future efforts into releasing only Platonic or Platonic connected releases and abandoning plans to release music by other artists. The label also needed to review its worldwide distribution deals and a number of legal problems led to delays in planning for future releases. In 2006 Spacedust Studios was also completely dismantled and moved to another purpose built studio in the area but the move did cause problems and led to a number of expensive and time delaying repairs to music equipment.
2007 started with the promise by Mark Anthony that over 10 new songs had been written and were being demoed for a new album that was taking the band further into an electronic direction and that the songs had all but abandoned guitars. However the recording of the new tracks was painstakingly slow and yet again equipment problems delayed the process even further. It was towards the end of 2007 that Mark Anthony started to go back to the guitar for inspiration and a batch of new songs were written which would form the basis of 2008’s ‘Red Moon’ album.
In early 2008 recording started properly for ‘Red Moon’. The recording process was quick and was a return in some places to the more extended psychedelic punk pieces that the band were performing in the late nineties. Having worked through the legal issues that had dogged both the band and label in 2006 and 2007 ‘Red Moon’ was finally released in September 2008, four years on since Platonic’s second album ‘Reign On’ and three years since the last release on Spacedust International Records. The album quickly sold its limited print run of 5’000 copies and for the first time the album was made available for sale digitally and the album continues to sell steadily in digital format.
After the positive reaction to ‘Red Moon’ Spacedust International Records released the whole of its back catalogue digitally for the first time and no sooner had ‘Red Moon’ been released but the exciting news came from Mark Anthony that a new Platonic EP would be released by the end of 2008. Although not sticking to his promise the EP turned into an album and the release date was postponed by a few months to allow for the extra time needed to record and produce the album. Released on 16 February 2009 the new album ‘Submarine Séance’ takes the band even further into the long experimental pieces of ‘Red Moon’ and takes them to their logical next level. All of the tracks on the album were recorded live in Spacedust Studios and it is the first Platonic album to feature no keyboards, synthesisers, drum machines or any other electric devices, just guitars and drums.
Both band and record label continue to remain staunchly independent and at present there has never been such an exciting time with Platonic promising to release further new material in 2009 and the digital crowd now picking up on the unique DIY philosophy on offer. Staunchly independent and intent on burning a hole in the record making industry before it is too late, take Spacedust International Records to your side and they will never leave you…
