Spunk Records Call It A Day, Detail Farewell Shows

After 25 years and a jaw-dropping 700 releases, Spunk Records is officially shutting its doors.

The news was shared by founder Aaron Curnow this morning (March 11), with Curnow explaining simply that he’s “decided to call it a day”.

He continued in his message to supporters, “I’ve had a wonderful, wonderful 25 years and had the opportunity to work with and/or meet most of my favourite artists. I hope a show or record I put out got you incredibly excited or even helped you through a tough time! And most importantly THANK YOU for buying the CDs and LPs that kept the label afloat for so many years!”

Of course, Curnow has some big plans for the label’s farewell: this May, as part of the annual VIVID festival in Sydney (Eora), the Sydney Opera House will host two special concerts to say goodbye to Spunk Records. Scheduled for Friday May 24 and Saturday 25, both shows will take place in the Joan Sutherland Theatre with sets from Explosions In The Sky (giving a full run-through of their 2003 album The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place), Aldous Harding and The Middle East.

Tickets for both shows go on sale at 10am this Friday (March 15), following two presales: one for SOH Insiders kicking off at the same time tomorrow (March 12), and one for subscribers to the What’s On newsletter kicking off at the same time on Wednesday (March 13). Head here for more info on all three sales.

Last month, Curnow sat down with TheMusic.com.au's Jeff Jenkins to chat about Spunk Records’ history for the label’s 25th anniversary. “The first 20 years were so busy,” he said, “I didn’t have a chance to contemplate packing it in. The last five years have been a little up and down.” Asked how he’d describe his quarter-century tenure with the label, Curnow said it’s been “incredible, life-changing, lucky, a roller-coaster [and] eventful”.

As for what his future holds, Curnow hinted he still plans to work in the music industry, but also seems pretty keen to enjoy a more leisurely lifestyle. He said of his plans: “Surf and more surfing! Try and get better at golf. Read more. I am desperate to go to Sri Lanka. I keep hearing incredible reports, so travel more. And retire to the far south coast. With some new releases thrown in there as well!”