In November 2013, Documentary Evidence released MuteResponse, two compilations to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the blog and providing a unique tribute to the legacy of pioneering label Mute Records.

Released as a double compilation download album by NominalMusics, MuteResponse includes twenty-one tracks from a range of artists who have been influenced by this pioneering imprint.

Focussing on the importance of Mute in the development of electronic music, from post-punk industrial noise through to pop and techno, the albums include contributions from producer Gareth Jones, D-R-U-N-K (MOTOR‘s Oly Grasset), Simon Fisher Turner collaborator Espen J. Jörgensen with Rupert Lally, and Vic Twenty. Elsewhere, Jonteknik offers a playful tribute to Erasure‘s Vince Clarke, Thee Balancer pays homage to Throbbing Gristle‘s Peter Christopherson, while London unit The SFTs (Simon Fisher Turner) provide a personal message to Mute’s founder, Daniel Miller.

I wanted to find a way of highlighting just how important Mute has been for electronic music. It would have been really easy to ask for straight cover versions of Mute’s best moments but I really wanted to find a way of capturing the essence of what the label means to people instead. In the end I did agree to one cover version being included – MO75‘s beautiful instrumental take on Depeche Mode‘s ‘See You’. It’s a real mixture of dark and light, which was one of the things I really wanted to showcase.

Mute has meant so much to me and I was genuinely overwhelmed at how many like-minded people there were out there who wanted to be part of this project.

The compilations consist of exclusive tracks created just for the albums, unreleased tracks and tracks from recent releases that suited the theme of the project.

All proceeds from the sales of MuteResponse will be donated to charity.
credits

Mastered by Chris Sharp (Concretism).

All tracks (c) the artists, except ‘See You (Instrumental). ‘See You (Instrumental)’ is a version of ‘See You’ (Martin L. Gore). Published by EMI Music Publishing. Used by permission. All right reserved.

Artwork (c) Espen J. Jörgensen after an original design by Mat Smith.

Special thanks to Dave Fleet, Chris Skerik, Chris Sharp, Andy Sturmey, Jürgen Mayer and Jorge Punaro for their help, advice and support.

(c) 2013 Documentary Evidence