Platonic

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Platonic were originally formed in 1995 by a group of school friends in South West London. Originally a 3-piece consisting of guitar, bass and drums the band started out by covering Stooges songs and writing their own twisted psychedelic garage punk songs. In these initial stages the band went through several bass players and drummers before finally stabilising in 1998. The only band member to remain in the band from this time is Mark Anthony who continues to write and produce all of Platonic’s recorded output.
1996 saw the first indications of where Platonic’s future lay when Mark Anthony purchased his first 4-track cassette recorder and started to record tracks at home in his bedroom. Inspired by fellow home recording bands like Flying Saucer Attack and Guided By Voices the 4-track proved to be a very profitable acquisition for the band as during this period Anthony was writing on average 4 – 5 songs per week. This meant that the band could completely change set lists from one gig to the next!
During this period Mark Anthony started work on the infamous ‘Bulldozer’ demo tape that has done the circuit on the underground circuit and still sells at exorbitant prices on the web. Although never officially released the ‘Bulldozer’ tape featured ‘Polluted Hearts’ which was eventually released on Platonic’s 2002 debut album ‘A Spiderweb of Deceit’, ‘Beautiful’ which was eventually re-recorded for 2009’s ‘Submarine Séance’ and ‘Sorcery’ and ‘Sugar Altar’ which the band have promised to release one day. All tracks on the original ‘Sledgehammer’ tape were written, recorded and performed by Mark Anthony without the rest of the band and were the first time that Mark Anthony had used drum machines and synthesisers to record. Some later versions of the ‘Sledgehammer’ tape also included three band offerings from Platonic including ‘Selected’ from the 1996 mark 1 band, ‘Fire Escape’ from the mark 2 band and ‘Sister Cobra’ from the mark 3 band. All of these three tracks were eventually released on 2005’s ‘Sister Cobra EP’.
During 1998 the band started to focus on longer and more intense experimental songs featuring irregularly tuned guitars and plenty of electronic experimentation. 1998 also saw the debut in live sets of ‘Sister Cobra’ that has featured heavily in set lists ever since and is one of the most well known Platonic songs. This period also started to mark the band out from the rest of the pack with extended 30 – 45 minute versions of ‘Sister Cobra’ and plenty of destruction caused both to equipment and the crowd. However the now 5-piece Platonic (2 guitars, bass, drums, flute / organs) started to fracture away again with Mark Anthony wanting to take the sonic experimentation further and other band members wishing to tone it down. This came to a head during the final studio sessions at the Brothel Studios in London where the band were attempting to complete their debut EP.
The band were now being courted by a number of major and independent record labels and although most band members wanted to go with some of the offers put on the table Mark Anthony began to become more disillusioned with the music ‘business’ and would not sign unless guaranteed complete artistic control. After touring extensively through London and the South East of England the band decided to break up and Mark Anthony spent most of 1999 playing drums in several London post punk and avant guarde bands. Before the band split up Platonic were drawing in crowds of 250 – 1000 people per show.
However the Platonic story was not yet over and Mark Anthony formed a new Platonic line up at the back end of 1999. Featuring Anthony on drums and vocals the now 3-piece Platonic took a back to basics approach. Heavily influenced by the hardcore punk of the early eighties, sets often only lasted 15 minutes and normally featured about 9 songs. Although none of the songs used in these set lists were never recorded Mark Anthony has promised one day to release a hardcore punk EP to reflect the great music that this line up produced. The newly streamlined Platonic once again started to get more label interest and Platonic shows were now becoming all ticket affairs.
It was during this period that Mark Anthony decided to take a bold step and put a stop to the record labels once and for all. Spacedust International Records was formed in 1999 to provide the best in experimental and outsider music and to act as the label to released all of Platonic’s future releases. 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 3-piece hardcore line up lasted almost a year before breaking up in the summer of 2000. Mark Anthony now reflected on the line up changes and differing musical paths that he had taken over the last 5 years and made a bold decision to completely write, record and perform the first Platonic release himself and the first release on Spacedust International Records. Mark Anthony also decided to set some ground rules for the recording of this album that have remained in place for all future Platonic releases.
The first rule was that the album should be recorded organically at home and without the influence of any external producer or engineer. The album should also embrace the sonic experimentation and abstract song writing that Anthony had developed. From the organic point of view it was now decided that Mark Anthony would build his own home studio (Spacedust Studios) and a newly installed 8-track recorder was installed to cope with the more complex recording techniques that Anthony was applying. Mark Anthony also decided that the first Platonic album should be an extended long player and should push the limitation of a single CD to its limits and feature all new material.
Recorded between 2000 and 2001 ‘A Spiderweb Of Deceit’ was a monumental debut album. 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 band for what was around the corner. Mark Anthony had now put together a completely new Platonic line up featuring the drumming of Peter Swiecezwcki who had played in Frank Zappa’s backing band during the early 1980’s. 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 Platonic and Spacedust trying to cope with the extra demand and interest in the band.
2003 saw the band play further club shows in Holland, Germany and Italy and the band made another festival appearance at the Avant Festival in Spain with yet another new line up with only Mark Anthony still remaining as the only ever present in the band. The 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’). Although all the songs were once again written and recorded by Mark Anthony, Anthony now started to use other musicians to speed up the recording process and ‘Reign On’ was the first recorded output to feature regular contributors Alan Balchin and John Hopkins. 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’ featuring the guest vocals of Laura Hollamby. 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’ with long standing session drummer John Hopkins playing on most of the tracks. 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. Mark Anthony acknowledged that inspiration for recording the album could be attributed to listening heavily to early Pink Floyd, Hawkwind and Acid Mothers Temple. 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 their second album ‘Reign On’ was released. 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’ the band 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 the llow for the extra time needed to record and produce the new 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 by Mark Anthony and John Hopkins 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.