The Normal Share 4'33"; STUMM433 Box Set Featuring Over 50 Mute Artists Out October 4

MUTE 4.0 (1978 > TOMORROW) THE NORMAL SHARE 4’33” STUMM433 BOX SET COMPILING OVER 50 MUTE ARTISTS’ INTERPRETATIONS OF JOHN CAGE’S 4’33” FEATURING DESIGNERS INCLUDING ANTON CORBIJN AND MALCOLM GARRETT OUT OCTOBER 4

“Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise” – John Cage MUTE have shared new details of the forthcoming STUMM433 box set, due for release on October 4. Additionally, The Normal aka Daniel Miller – the artist that started Mute back in 1978 with the 7” single “T.V.O.D.” / “Warm Leatherette” – has today shared his tribute to John Cage’s 4’33” which will be available in the box set. The first music released by The Normal on Mute since the debut 7”, Miller recorded his piece at a site in North London that will be familiar to fans of the label as the site of its foundation: 16 Decoy Avenue. Listen to The Normal’s take on 4’33” and pre-order STUMM433 here. STUMM433 is the latest in the MUTE 4.0 (1978 > TOMORROW) series: a box set collating an unprecedented selection of Mute artists past, present and future, out on vinyl as a very limited box set edition of 433 copies that are signed by Daniel Miller as well as CD (both 5-piece collections, exclusive to Mute Bank) and digital formats. It features over 50 Mute artists including Yann Tiersen, Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Liars, Silicon Teens, Erasure, K Á R Y Y N, Irmin Schmidt and many more presenting their own interpretation of one piece of music: John Cage’s game changing composition, 4’33”. Each artist has created a visual to accompany their performance and a selection of 28 designers associated with Mute have contributed artwork inspired by 4’33”. Contributing designers include Simone Grant who worked with Miller on a lot of the early Mute artwork (The Normal, Fad Gadget and Depeche Mode); Steve Claydon, a member of Add N To (X) who designed for Goldfrapp; Slim Smith, who worked with Mute through the 1980s and 1990s; Malcolm Garrett, who designed the House of Illustrious box set for Vince Clarke and Martyn Ware; Tom Hingston, who has worked with Erasure and created the majority of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Grinderman artwork since the early 2000s; and Anton Corbjin, who has worked closely with Mute on many campaigns since the early 1980s, including those of Depeche Mode, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Fad Gadget. Watch Laibach’s visual contribution here. The vinyl box set will include a set of candles designed by award-winning perfumer Joseph Quartana of Six Scents Parfums as an interpretation of 4’33”. Quartana imagined the a flash of lightning in an old wooden theatre as metaphor for the lingering afterglow of a concert performance in order to answer the question: what is the scent of silence? The vinyl box set will feature five 180gm clear vinyl, a 36-page 12" sized soft touch lamination booklet, black tin candles with the scent of silence and a certificate of authenticity – numbered and signed by Daniel Miller – all packaged in a unique frosted opal PVC case with 3mm walls. The CD box set will feature five CDs with a 40+-page booklet packaged in a two-piece card box. 4’33” is among the most important of all contemporary music compositions. Composed and premiered in 1952, 4’33” is a piece for any instrument or combination of instruments. The score instructs the performer or performers not to play their instrument for the duration of the piece (generally four minutes and 33 seconds). As challenging and thought-provoking now as it was when it was premiered, 4’33” completely changed popular thinking on silence, sound, composition and listening. Daniel 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 Simon Fisher Turner, I immediately thought this was the perfect way to mark the label’s MUTE 4.0 (1978 > TOMORROW) series.” Net profits from the release of STUMM433 will be split between the British Tinnitus Association and Music Minds Matter. These charities were chosen to honor Inspiral Carpets’ founding member Craig Gill who suffered from anxiety and depression as a result of his tinnitus in the years up to his untimely death. Artists featured include: A Certain Ratio, A.C. Marias, ADULT., The Afghan Whigs, Alexander Balanescu, Barry Adamson, Ben Frost, Bruce Gilbert, Cabaret Voltaire, Carter Tutti Void, Chris Carter, Chris Liebing, Cold Specks, Daniel Blumberg, Danny Briottet, Depeche Mode, Duet Emmo, Echoboy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Erasure, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, He Said, Irmin Schmidt, Josh T. Pearson, K Á R Y Y N, Komputer, Laibach, Land Observations, Lee Ranaldo, Liars, Looper, Lost Under Heaven, Maps, Mark Stewart / Sonskrif / The New Banalist Orchestra, Michael Gira, Mick Harvey, Miranda Sex Garden, Moby, Modey Lemon, Mountaineers, New Order, Nitzer Ebb, NON / Boyd Rice, Nonpareils, The Normal, onDeadWaves, Phew, Pink Grease, Pole, Polly Scattergood, Richard Hawley, ShadowParty, Silicon Teens, Simon Fisher Turner and Edmund de Waal, The Warlocks, Wire, Yann Tiersen and Gareth Jones. STUMM433 is part of a series of special events and releases that started in 2018 and will continue through 2019 and beyond. The STUMM433 vinyl box set is manufactured in partnership with The Vinyl Factory Manufacturing. Mute and Thames & Hudson recently worked together on Mute: A Visual Document, a visual history of the label. One of Uncut and Rough Trade’s Books of the Year, it was described by the record store as “beautifully bound, this book is as iconic and dynamic as Mute's musical past.” Learn more about the publication here. Bloomsbury Publishers recently launched an academic book, Mute Records: Artists, Business, History,examining the label via detailed analysis by academics from around the world. Edited by Middlesex University’s Zuleika Beaven, Marcus O’Dair and Richard Osborne, more information can be found here. Mute Synth 4.0, the third handheld analog synth collaboration between Mute, Adrian Shaughnessy and Dirty Electronics is out now. This new digital / analog synth features inputs, a digital wavetable synthesizer, an analog noise circuit, and programmable sequencer. Further information can be found here. Future Sound Systems (whose previous modules include The Gristleizer, created in collaboration with Chris Carter from Throbbing Gristle and the original designer, Roy Gwinn) have worked together with Daniel Miller to create the STUMM and MAKROW modules, available now to pre-order. MAKROW, described as “your system’s steering wheel” and STUMM, a six-channel bank of high-fidelity audio mutes, are both designed for live performance. Daniel Miller explains, “when I was developing my own systems at home, there were things that I felt would help my system but I couldn’t find them.” More information about the collaboration available here. MUTE 4.0 (1978 > TOMORROW) acknowledges the launch of a label that started out of necessity rather than design (to release the 7” single by The Normal, “T.V.O.D.” / “Warm Leatherette,” recorded by Daniel Miller on a KORG 700S keyboard with a TEAC four-track recorder), and marks the past four decades, but crucially, looks forward to the label’s many years to come as it travels unapologetically into tomorrow. MORE INFORMATION ON THE BRITISH TINNITUS ASSOCIATION Around one in ten people experience tinnitus, the sensation of sound in the head or ears when there is no corresponding external sound. This means for people with tinnitus, silence is elusive, and for some, impossible. The British Tinnitus Association is the only national charity solely dedicated to the tinnitus community. Our vision is a world where no one suffers from tinnitus. We provide information, support and research funds to make this vision a reality. MORE INFORMATION ON HELP MUSICIANS AND MUSIC MINDS MATTER Help Musicians is an independent charity with an extraordinary history. For nearly 100 years, the charity has provided a broad spectrum of help, support and opportunities to empower musicians of all ages, at any stage of their career, from times of great need to times of opportunity, providing a lifetime of support when it is needed most. The charity is uniquely placed to take a personalized approach with each individual supported through its integrated program that offers creative development and health and welfare services. In 2018, Help Musicians saw a 67% increase in demand for its services across both creative development and health and welfare. The need among musicians is bigger than ever before and this trend is set to continue. Help Musicians aims to make a meaningful difference to the lives of even more musicians by growing reach and becoming even more national in the coming years. The charity can do more through collaboration and builds strong relationships within the music industry, the health sector and beyond to promote and advocate for musicians’ wellbeing, mental health, hearing health, career progression and more. With a research-led approach, Help Musicians shares insights, knowledge, resources and best practice, while developing preventative support and initiatives to sustain careers and ultimately improve working conditions for musicians across the sector. The charity is passionate about a world where musicians thrive. Help Musicians UK understands the complexity of working in music and created Music Minds Matter as a dedicated service for anyone working in the industry. If you work in music and are struggling to cope, or know someone who is, talk to us. You can contact Music Minds Matter by emailing MMM@helpmusicians.org.uk.