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Artist News Releases
Mute announces silent box set
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 4 July 2019
Mute Records has announced a new boxset featuring 50 versions of the same piece of music by artists from throughout the label’s history. That piece of music is John Cage’s famously silent ‘4’33”’.
The reason for this is that the catalogue number of the release is STUMM433. Also, it’s a fun thing to do, isn’t it? I’m surprised all labels don’t do it. Why is this not a thing already? Also, it’s part of the ‘Mute 4.0 (1978 > Tomorrow)’ series, marking the label’s 40th anniversary.
Among the artists who have contributed to the boxset are Mute’s first and most recent signings – respectively The Normal (aka label founder Daniel Miller) and Káryyn – plus Depeche Mode, New Order, Erasure, Moby, Goldfrapp, Miranda Sex Garden, Yann Tiersen, Liars, The Afghan Whigs, Richard Hawley and more.
Miller explains: “John Cage’s ‘4’33″‘ has been present in my musical life for as long as I can remember as an important and inspiring composition. When the idea of every Mute artist doing their own interpretation of the piece came up during a conversation with [Mute-signed] Simon Fisher Turner, I immediately thought this was the perfect way to mark the label’s ‘Mute 4.0 (1978 > Tomorrow)’ series”.
Profits from the sale of the release, available on vinyl from 16 Aug, will be split between the British Tinnitus Association and Music Minds Matter – chosen in honour of Inspiral Carpets’ founding member Craig Gill.
