Mute

Founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller, Mute Records grew from an independent British label into a long-running home for electronic music, experimental pop, industrial, art rock and left-field songwriting. Its history is closely tied to artists who brought unusual ideas into the pop world without sanding down their edges, from Miller’s own Fad Gadget to Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Moby.

Mute’s roster has also made room for harsher and more confrontational work. Einstürzende Neubauten, Laibach and Nitzer Ebb each reflect the label’s connection to industrial and electronic body music, while Diamanda Galás and Wire represent its commitment to uncompromising vocal and art-rock expression. The label has worked with artists whose records move easily between club music, intimate electronic production and more expansive forms of pop, including Goldfrapp, Fever Ray, Arca, HAAi and Ora the Molecule.

Rock and songwriter-led projects have remained part of the picture. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Grinderman, Mick Harvey, A Certain Ratio, Inspiral Carpets and New Order sit alongside composers and musicians such as Yann Tiersen and Felsmann + Tiley. M83 and Yeasayer further show the label’s reach into widescreen electronic pop and indie music.

Mute was acquired by EMI Group in 2002. In 2010, Miller returned to operating Mute independently through an agreement licensing the Mute trademark, while EMI retained rights to the label’s back catalogue. Following the dissolution of EMI Group, BMG Rights Management acquired that back catalogue in 2012. Mute remains identified with Daniel Miller’s original independent spirit and a catalogue that connects synth-pop’s foundations with experimental and contemporary electronic music.