Planet Mu had a low-key revamp in the 00s. Previously home to a prolific IDM roster, after signing Manchester's Mark One and London duo Vex'd in 2004, the label became a key player in dubstep, finding new life through a thriving scene of local talent.

Releasing one of dubstep's first albums, Vex'd's Degenerate tackled the sound from a harsher angle that seemed to fit an imprint best known for its brutalist drill 'n' bass and breakcore. But reflecting Paradinas' own tastes, the label also tapped into the scene's centre, releasing singles from Benga, Distance, Pinch and, more recently, post-dubstep producers Gemmy and Ikonika and 'future-garage' maker Brackles.

There's also been grime from Terror Danjah, three compilations curated by Radio 1's Mary Anne Hobbs and capturing the crossover happening in 2009, The Mu School, a download-only album showcasing just where the label currently stands. It's a fair way off from flagship Mu signings like Venetian Snares, but then Paradinas has never been keen to tie the label to one particular sound.

"Because we released Venetian Snares, people's perception of us was breakcore and IDM," he says. "I think I mainly started releasing dubstep to try and get out of that. I'm interested in all sorts of electronic music. Right now, I think dubstep has sort of reached that point where it's become formula, but that formula can still go somewhere."  

While he defends producers like Caspa from the usual charges of dumbing dubstep down ("he makes stuff you can dance to and that's difficult, that's nothing to look down upon"), he's cautious about getting too excited about any one sound, preferring to focus strictly on particular records or individual artists.

"Someone like Ikonika, she's got a hell of a lot of potential," he gushes. "She's kinda hip hop meets metal in a very weird way. But whatever you wanna call it, future garage, post-dubstep or whatever, give it 18 months and it will have found its formula. But it is interesting at the moment because no one knows where it's going. It's just reflecting what's going on with young people making music. Shortstuff wasn't even making stuff 18 months ago."

Started in the mid 90s when Virgin asked Paradinas what he would like the "sub-sub label" issuing the records he was making as µ-Ziq to be named, Planet Mu initially operated under subsidiary label Hut. The deal was short-lived however, and when profits fell short of expectations, Paradinas left to go independent. It reads like the usual tale of clueless majors only interested in the bottom line, but Paradinas says otherwise.

"There was no bad feeling. It was just 'oh we don't think they're going to go for it again'. But everyone at Virgin was very supportive and helped me out. There just wasn't enough of a profit for them, so I decided to do it myself. Which was better, 'cos profit wasn't my main motive, putting out good music is. That's why it works. There has to be some profit somewhere along the line though!"

With junglists Bizzy B and Remarc and IDMers Luke Vibert and Neil Landstrumm all featuring on the roster, Mu's remit has never been narrow, but the label's most successful output in the 00s has come from dubstep. Initially though, Paradinas was looking elsewhere.

"I actually tried to release a lot of grime but no one was interested. I tried to sign Wiley very early on. I really liked the Eski stuff and wanted him to do twelves but he was a very difficult person to try and contact. And the whole thing about grime is that they wanted to sign to majors. Whenever I talked to anyone at that time like Trim and Jammer, they were all looking at Dizzee and what he had done at XL. They wanted money upfront basically and I didn't have it.

"With dubstep, they just wanted the music out. They were all more open to what I was trying to do. Mark One was the first dubstep signing, but it wasn't called dubstep then. It was just 8-bar or garage. So that evolved from my interest in grime really. I liked grime much more than dubstep at the time. With Vex'd, their first Pop Pop 12" I categorised as grime, 'cos MCs were spitting over it, but they just sort of evolved into dubstep."

Putting out scene-defining 12"s such as Pinch's Qawaali, Paradinas has also signed acclaimed producers from the genre's leftfield like Falty DL and Starkey. So while he's still been keeping a focus on the post-rave side of things with new additions like ex-bricklayer Remano Eszildn and acid-obsessive Syntheme, it's probably not surprising that dubstep makes up the bulk of the demos he gets sent.

"Obviously they're just as shit as all the breakcore demos I used to get five years ago," he laughs, "but there's still a lot of interesting stuff. There's less scope to get it [dubstep] wrong I think. But in 'the old days', a lot of the more talented people wouldn't be the sort of people that would send you a demo. Self-promoters often get ahead at the expense of talented musicians I find."

Talented or not, he's happy to offer his artists constructive criticism. Or explain just why he can only put out a fraction of their material, as he did with Falty DL who submitted around 80 tracks for Love Is A Liability but had to settle for including just 13.

"They can try and convince me [otherwise], but I don't like to put it out if I'm not into it," he says. "I have to trust my instinct. So if they're sensitive, they probably wouldn't like Planet Mu. I say what I think and they grow to respect that I think. But we have a lot of arguments. Doing Wild Angels was a fucking nightmare. We got a really good result but it was fucking hard work. She [Mary Anne Hobbs] was so angry with certain people and so was I."

For 2010, Paradinas says there will still be a steady stream of singles but the label's output will be scaled back to keep a more careful eye on quality control. There are also plans for exclusive website-only releases catering to hardcore Mu-ites. Is he ever surprised by the label's lasting power? "Yeah, but if I think about it, I'll get scared I'm not going to last any longer. So as long as I concentrate a short way ahead into the future, six months or something, I'm alright."

 

Words: Sunil Chauhan

 

Mike Paradinas' favourite Planet Mu releases of 2009

1. Terror Danjah - Gremlinz
2. Various - Wild Angels
3. Falty DL - Love is a Liability
4. Boxcutter – Arecibo Message
5. Jamie Vex'd - In System Travel

 

Download Planet Mu's Kmag mix here

 

Tracklisting

1. Terror Danjah - Sidechain (Swindle Remix)
2. Rossi B + Luca - E10 Riddim  
3. Plastician - Cha Vocal
4. Terror Danjah - Code Morse
5. Gemmy - Supligen
6. Starkey - ?
7. Darqwan - Universal Wan-ting
8. Pinch - Attack of the Giant Spiders
9. Ital Tek - Octa
10. Brackles - Rawkus
11. Hyetal - We Should Light a Fire
12. Ikonika - We Could Be Ikons
13. Eskmo - From the Standpoint
14. Luke Vibert - Belief File
15. Neil Landstrumm - The Coconut Kestrel
16. Falty DL - The Shape to Come

• Planet Mu

Related Links:

• Planet Mu Announce 2010 Album Plans
• Ital Tek - Midnight Colour
• Tempa Allstars Vol.6
• New Once Upon A Grime Merchandise
• New Mary Anne Hobbs Compilation

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