Mute Records have announced the release of new box set ‘STUMM433’ as part of the label’s 40-year anniversary celebrations. It will include over 50 different interpretations of John Cage’s influential composition ‘4’33”’, each performed by a different artist from the Mute roster dating back to the label’s inception in 1978.


‘4’33”’ was originally composed in 1952 by American experimental composer John Cage, and can be performed using any instrument or combination of instruments. The score instructs the performer not to play their instrument for the entire duration of the piece; the music is instead created by the sounds of the environment heard by the listener during the performance. The composition epitomises Cage’s proposal that any sound or lack of sound can constitute music.

Notable performers include New Order, Moby and Wire, and each contributing artists will provide a visual to accompany their performance. The first video released is of Slovenian avant-garde group Laibach’s performance.

STUMM433 will be released in May 2019, with profits split between the British Tinnitus Association and Music Minds Matter charities.