Mute

‘You don’t have to be a musician; all you need are the ideas and you can come up with something interesting.’ Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records 

Mute is one of the most revered and influential indie labels of all time. Through the music of its tight-knit community of artists – ranging from Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Nick Cave’s The Birthday Party and Einstürzende Neubauten to Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure, Laibach and Goldfrapp – it has had an incalculable impact on popular music for forty years. 

This authoritative, sumptuously illustrated history of the label features stunning artwork and photography – much of it previously unseen – and revelatory behind-thescenes insights from those who have worked with the label. Revealing text contributions from key players, together with ground-breaking shots and video stills from lengendary photographers, make this book the definitive chronicle of the iconic label, which today has offices in the USA, UK, Germany and France and an unparalleled reputation worldwide.

Table of Contents

1. 1978–1979: Warm Leatherette and Letraset: Founding a New New Wave
2. 1980–1982: Mute in the Charts: Depeche Mode and Yazoo • 3. 1983–1989: Beyond
Electropop: The Experimental Side of Mute • 4. 1990–1999: Mute into the Nineties
5. 2000– Into the Future