STUMM433 - Box Set - Various Artists - All Performing John Cage 4'33"

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We are delighted to announce our latest release in the MUTE 4.0 (1978 > TOMORROW) series: STUMM433, a box set collating an unprecedented selection of Mute artists past, present and future, out in May 2019.

From The Normal, the artist that started Mute, to the label’s newest signing,
K Á R Y Y N, STUMM433 will feature a huge array – over 50 – of Mute artists , all presenting their own interpretation of one piece of music: John Cage’s game-changing composition, 4’33”.

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.

Each artist has created a visual to accompany their performance of 4’33” and the box set launches with a video from Laibach.

Deluxe Vinyl £130-£190
Standard Vinyl £45-£60
CD £25-£35

Poll Results

OptionVotes
New Order 2
Josh T. Pearson 2
A Certain Ratio 1
Mark Stewart 1
Erasure 1
Fad Gadget (tribute) 1
Miranda Sex Garden 1
Moby 1
Lee Ranaldo 1
Renegade Soundwave 1
A.C. Marias 1
Wire 1
Richard Hawley 0
Mick Harvey 0
Irmin Schmidt 0
Yann Tiersen 0
Mountaineers 0
The Warlocks 0
Simon Fisher Turner 0
Nitzer Ebb 0
Silicon Teens 0
ShadowParty 0
NON 0
Richie Hawtin 0
The Normal 0
onDeadWaves 0
Polly Scattergood 0
Nonpareils 0
Maps 0
Lost Under Heaven 0
Cold Specks 0
Chris Liebing 0
Carter Tutti Void 0
Cabaret Voltaire 0
Ben Frost 0
Barry Adamson 0
Alexander Balanescu 0
The Afghan Whigs 0
Daniel Blumberg 0
Depeche Mode 0
Duet Emmo 0
Looper 0
Liars 0
Laibach 0
Komputer 0
K Á R Y Y N 0
Goldfrapp 0
Einstürzende Neubauten 0
Echoboy 0
ADULT. 0


Mark G, Friday, 18 January 2019 11:27 (six years ago)

I had to drop out some to make it 50 options:

Bruce Gilbert
Chris Carter
He Said
Land Observations
Michael Gira
Modey Lemon
Phew
Pink Grease
Pole

Some are on other artist names, some are "who?" and one is "c'mon.."

Mark G, Friday, 18 January 2019 11:28 (six years ago)

Isn't the whole point of the piece that it should be performed live? Does it make sense on record?

Tuomas, Friday, 18 January 2019 11:44 (six years ago)

The little I gleaned was that each artist does something silently for whatever time period, for a video performance.

It reminds me of that monty python sketch where you had to work out which philosopher was on a recording, reading the paper or some such.

Mark G, Friday, 18 January 2019 11:54 (six years ago)

It's already leaked, including 266(!) bonus tracks not in the box set.

ArchCarrier, Friday, 18 January 2019 13:08 (six years ago)

I'm not gonna lie, I had to google to see if this was a spoof or not

the article don, Friday, 18 January 2019 13:40 (six years ago)

I heard someone joking earlier that the Depeche Mode rendition is the best thing they've done for 21 years!

Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Sunday, 20 January 2019 00:05 (six years ago)

The catalogue number for this tickles me, given that "stumm" is German for "mute" ...

Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Sunday, 20 January 2019 00:06 (six years ago)

So is it about ambient sound in the studio?
THought the point of it as a live piece was to illustrate the absence of silence in any given situation. The person supposedly performing not doing an active performance showing whatever other sound there was in the venue.
So yeah odd as a studio recording.
Did hear taht Ciccone Youth once did a hardcore version at 1'33 or something similar. Sped it up, like.

Stevolende, Sunday, 20 January 2019 00:10 (six years ago)

https://www.discogs.com/master/view/1022486

Sounds Of Silence - The Most Intriguing Silences In Recording History!

brimstead, Sunday, 20 January 2019 01:34 (six years ago)

I was expecting some sort of DVD collection, given that the Laibach one is being previewed. But, no. Unless its in the Super deluxe version.

Mark G, Sunday, 20 January 2019 23:19 (six years ago)

The catalogue number for this tickles me, given that "stumm" is German for "mute" ...

'mute' is english for 'mute'!!!!!!

j., Sunday, 20 January 2019 23:22 (six years ago)

This one's always been a favorite of mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voqCQSDAcn8

grawlix (unperson), Sunday, 20 January 2019 23:29 (six years ago)

'mute' is english for 'mute'!!!!!!

― j., Sunday, January 20, 2019 11:22 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well observed, but the catalogue number isn't MUTE433. It's more the way the word "stumm" made it into British slang, i.e. "keep stumm" meaning "keep quiet", which is precisely what performers of 4'33" try to do.

Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Monday, 21 January 2019 00:29 (six years ago)

It's a pun on Mute that's been on the catalogue for decades. Think it was totally conscious when it was introduced.

Stevolende, Monday, 21 January 2019 01:11 (six years ago)

voted moby

ciderpress, Monday, 21 January 2019 01:22 (six years ago)

Would assume that the project itself was a riff on the idea of 'Mute'.
Haven't seen, is it an anniversary celebration/item or something?

Stevolende, Monday, 21 January 2019 01:26 (six years ago)

IIRC Cage has said that he wrote 4:33 "a note at a time," I.e., he started with an amount of silence that sounded good, kept going, and stopped when it seemed like another moment of silence would have felt like too much. 4:32 would have been too short and 4:34 would be too long.

In the 80s, somebody published a piece of joke sheet music called "Resting" for SATB. It was four pages of different rests, all notated very tongue-in-cheekily. Like there's a few measures of sixteenth-note rests in the alto part and it says with feeling and then it goes back to whole-note rests, then a fermata over a half rest, then a repeat sign, etc. Seems to have circulated among choir director s as a goof. I think my mother has a copy.

Gunther Gleiben (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 21 January 2019 14:05 (six years ago)

JUst thinking that with a concept like this it is usually done to mark a significant point. So somebody brainstorms a memorable concept taht would be the marker. Not sure what ground it has on its own feet.
So could see that it might be Mute's 40th anniversary though not sure they were around prior to the early 80s. Or the anniversary of teh Cage piece. Or did the matrix number Stumm433 come up and need something to be attributed to it.

Stevolende, Monday, 21 January 2019 14:39 (six years ago)

"Warm Leatherette" was 1978 IIRC.

Tim, Monday, 21 January 2019 15:00 (six years ago)

xposts Yeah, I saw that sheet music in Forbes a couple of years ago. Along with some other sheet musics..

Mark G, Monday, 21 January 2019 15:24 (six years ago)

Well observed, but the catalogue number isn't MUTE433.

That’s because this isn’t a single. Singles on Mute have a Mute cat #, albums have a Stumm cat # (since 1980), and Depeche Mode singles have a Bong cat.

sans lep (sic), Monday, 21 January 2019 16:50 (six years ago)

xp it seems to be part of Mute’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

michaellambert, Monday, 21 January 2019 17:55 (six years ago)

That’s because this isn’t a single.

― sans lep (sic), Monday, January 21, 2019 4:50 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Obviously!

It's a pun on Mute that's been on the catalogue for decades. Think it was totally conscious when it was introduced.

― Stevolende, Monday, January 21, 2019 1:11 AM (eighteen hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm well aware of the fact that they generally used a "mute" catalogue number for singles and "stumm" (German for "mute") for albums from the very beginning. I'm pointing out that the catalogue number of this project is far more descriptive than, say, the catalogue number for Erasure's Wild! (Stumm 75), in the sense that not only has it been given an appropriate catalogue number (433) but the word "stumm" basically implies what the performers of the piece are doing. They're "keeping stumm", i.e. "staying quiet"/"not performing" ... it falls in line quite neatly with Mute's existing policy of cataloguing their releases and creates a nice little pun. I seriously thought I wouldn't need to explain all that.

Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Monday, 21 January 2019 19:40 (six years ago)

one month passes...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Saturday, 2 March 2019 00:01 (six years ago)

Mark G, Saturday, 2 March 2019 19:40 (six years ago)

i simultaneously think this is a cool idea and wonder why anyone in their right mind would buy it.

affects breves telnet (Gummy Gummy), Saturday, 2 March 2019 19:52 (six years ago)

Voted for the fad gadget tribute band, though I wonder why we couldn’t have had hologram frank tovey himself

A funny tinge happened on the way to the forum (wins), Saturday, 2 March 2019 20:11 (six years ago)

Can't remember if I've already posted "oh fuck off" on this thread or not

See me in mi heels an' tinge (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 2 March 2019 20:30 (six years ago)

Anyone voting in this poll without listening to the entire box set is acting against the spirit of the poll imo

mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 2 March 2019 21:14 (six years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Sunday, 3 March 2019 00:01 (six years ago)

Afghan Whigs were robbed

Gunther Gleiben (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, 3 March 2019 02:50 (six years ago)

sssssh

affects breves telnet (Gummy Gummy), Sunday, 3 March 2019 18:54 (six years ago)

stumm.

Mark G, Monday, 4 March 2019 17:01 (six years ago)


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