Mute Records is one of the most influential, commercially successful, and long-lasting of the British independent record labels formed in the wake of the late-1970's punk explosion. Yet, in comparison with contemporaries such as Rough Trade or Stiff, its legacy remains under-explored.This edited collection addresses Mute's wide-ranging impact. Drawing from disciplines such as popular music studies, musicology, and fan studies, it takes a distinctive, artist-led approach, outlining the history of the label by focusing each chapter on one of its acts. The book covers key moments in the company's evolution, from the first releases by The Normal and Fad Gadget to recent work by Arca and Dirty Electronics. It shines new light on the most successful Mute artists, including Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Erasure, Moby, and Goldfrapp, while also exploring the label's avant-garde innovators, such as Throbbing Gristle, Mark Stewart, Labaich, Ut, and Swans. Mute Records examines the business and aesthetics of independence through the lens of the label's artists.

List of PlatesList of FiguresPermissionsList of ContributorsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Mute RecordsRichard Osborne and Zuleika Beaven1. 'Let's Make Love Before You Die': 'Warm Leatherette', Boredom, and the Invention of the 1980sS. Alexander Reed, Ithaca College, USA2. 'One Man's Meat': Fad Gadget's Social Commentary and Post-PunkGiuseppe Zevolli, King's College, UK3. Fans of Faith and Devotion: Obsession, Nostalgia and Depeche ModeAndy Pope, Independent Researcher4. "Depeche Mode and Soft Cell": Redefining the Prologue of the Mute and Some Bizzare Record LabelsLeon Clowes, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK5. Throbbing Gristle's Early Records: Post-Hippie/Pre-Punk/Post-PunkJohn Encarnacao, Western Sydney University, Australia 6. 'Join That Troubled Chorus': Nick Cave, the Bad Seeds, and the BluesRoss Cole, University of Cambridge, UK7. Mark Stewart: 'Somewhere'Eddie George, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK8. 'Sometimes, Always': Erasure, Mute and the Value of IndependenceBrenda Kelly, Independent Researcher9. Outside Mute? Ut, No Wave and Blast FirstIeuan Franklin, Bournemouth University, UK10. The Mash-up of Aesthetics, Theory and Politics in Laibach's Meta-soundAténé Mendelyté, Lund University, Sweden11. 'The Blessed Glow of Labour': Independence, Style and Process in the Music of SwansDean Lockwood, University of Lincoln, UK12. Moby, Minstrelsy and MelvilleRichard Osborne, Middlesex University, UK13. 'Country Girl': Rural Feminism in the Performance of Alison GoldfrappLucy O'Brien, University of the Creative Arts, UK14. Twist: Goldfrapp's Genre PerversionGlyn Davis, University of Edinburgh, UK15. Arca: Mute's MutantMark Waugh, Anglia University, UK16. Composing in Circuitry: Sonic Artist Dirty ElectronicsLourdes N. Crosby García, Full Sail University, USAIndex