Planet Mu Records Ltd. is the label Mike Paradinas, also known as µ-Ziq, founded in 1995. It began as an imprint of Virgin Records and became independent in 1998, when Virgin withdrew; the company was incorporated in the UK that year and is registered in London. Paradinas first used it for his own music before opening it to other artists, and he named it after Carl Craig’s label Planet E.
Planet Mu’s output covers IDM, glitch, breakcore, dubstep, grime and footwork, with jungle and amen-driven drumfunk among its drum and bass strands. Venetian Snares, Ital Tek, Machinedrum and Jlin have all released on the label, and jungle veteran Bizzy B issued his Science EP Vol III there in 2004 and the album Retrospective in 2009.
In 2006 Planet Mu put out three Warrior Dubz compilations curated by Mary Anne Hobbs. The first Bangs & Works volume, featuring DJ Rashad, helped bring Chicago footwork to a wider audience, and the second, a year later, helped launch Jlin’s career. A 2015 compilation came with a book on the label’s history, and PlanetMμ25 marked its 25th anniversary in 2020.
