Daniel Miller (music producer)

British musician

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Daniel Miller

Birth name| Daniel Otto Joachim Miller
Born|  (1951-02-14) 14 February 1951 (age 73)
Marylebone, London, England
Genres|

* Post-punk
* new wave
* synth-pop
* electronic
* industrial

Occupation(s)|

* Music producer
* music label founder

Instrument(s)|

* Synthesizer
* keyboards
* sampler
* drum machine
* guitar
* saxophone

Years active| 1968–present
Labels| Mute Records
Website| www.mute.com

Musical artist

Daniel Otto Joachim Miller (born 14 February 1951) is a British music producer and founder of Mute Records.

## Biography

[edit]

Miller is the son of two Austrian-Jewish refugees from Nazism, Martin Miller and Hannah Norbert-Miller, born into a family of actors.[1]

Miller studied film and television at the Guildford School of Art (now University for the Creative Arts) from 1969-1972, where he became interested in synthesizer music.[2] By the end of the 1960s, he became frustrated with rock music's lack of experimentation and became interested in the sound of German bands like Can, Faust, Neu! and Kraftwerk.[3] Miller worked as a DJ in Switzerland before returning to England at the height of punk, which he enjoyed due to the energy and do-it-yourself attitude of the music. He later became interested in the electronic music scene such as Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire which inspired Miller to create his own music. Using money from film editing and working long hours, he gathered enough money to buy a cheap miniKORG 700S synthesizer and a TEAC four-track reel-to-reel tape recorder[2] leading to the creation of the band, The Normal.[3]

Early 1970's transistor vocoder custom built for and used by Kraftwerk for the album Ralf und Florian, now in the possession of Daniel Miller

### Birth of Mute Records

[edit]

After returning from a live tour, Miller found a pile of demo tapes on his doorstep.[4] Because he had included an address on the 'Warm Leatherette' single cover, people had wanted to do a similar small-scale deal with Mute. The turning point for Mute Records came when Miller listened to a tape by an artist called Fad Gadget and liked what he heard.[4] In 1979, Mute Records began releasing singles by Fad Gadget including 'Back to Nature', the follow-up to 'Warm Leatherette'. Miller ran the label from his North-West London flat.

## Music projects

[edit]

### The Normal

[edit]

Main article: The Normal

Miller recorded two songs, "T.V.O.D." and "Warm Leatherette". The latter was inspired by J. G. Ballard's novel Crash. He called it The Normal to demystify and make it very bland and completed the package by setting up a record label for the release, Mute. He had researched how to make a single so he got some test pressings. Not knowing anything about retail or distribution he approached Rough Trade Records in Portobello Road, London. Originally a record outlet, Rough Trade had expanded into a label and distribution network. Miller took a test pressing into the shop to see if they would be interested in buying a box of them. Rough Trade Records boss Geoff Travis went to the back of the shop with Miller and played "Warm Leatherette". They loved the recording and helped him press 2000 copies of the single. "Warm Leatherette" was released in May 1978 and sold out very quickly.[3] After receiving critical acclaim for the project Miller decided to explore further. He had been helping out at the Rough Trade Shop when he was given an offer of live work. Not wanting to perform alone, he formed a duo with the late Robert Rental who was recording material in a similar style at the time. The live event was hosted by DJ Colin Faver and included Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire. After that event, Miller and Rental took on a Rough Trade tour supporting Stiff Little Fingers. Miller and Rental went down very badly; Stiff Little Fingers were a traditional punk band supported by two people with synthesizers and a backing tape.[4]

### Silicon Teens

[edit]

Main article: Silicon Teens

Another early Mute signing was the synthpop band Silicon Teens, with four imaginary band members: Darryl (played by Frank Tovey), Jacki, Paul, and Diane. The recordings were all recorded by Miller himself and engineered by Eric Radcliffe, who would later work on many other Mute releases.[5] An album titled 'Music for Parties' was released in 1980 and consisted of classic rock 'n' roll songs, like 'Memphis, Tennessee' and 'Just Like Eddie', done in an upbeat synthpop style. The Silicon Teens gave an insight into Miller's idea of an all-synthesiser teenage pop group.[6]

### Duet Emmo

[edit]

Duet Emmo was a one-off collaboration between Daniel Miller, Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert spawning an album and single, both titled 'Or So it Seems' in 1983. Lewis and Gilbert were both members of Wire until 1979 when the band split up. All three had been friends for a long time. They had all been using Blackwing Studios, and had shared the same engineer, Eric Radcliffe. An initial project had been suggested in 1980 but the success of Depeche Mode and Yazoo had kept Miller busy until the end of 1982. Lewis and Gilbert had both been releasing their own material under the name Dome. Duet Emmo was an anagram of Mute and Dome.[7]

### Sunroof

[edit]

With fellow Depeche Mode music producer Gareth Jones, Daniel Miller has released a few remixes under the name Sunroof. Starting with a remix of "Oh Yeah" for the 1997 Can remix album Sacrilege, there has also surfaced remixes for Neu!, Kreidler, Pizzicato Five, Goldfrapp, Faust, MGMT, Charles Wilp, Ellis Island Sound, Future Bible Heroes and To Rococo Rot.[8]

The Sunroof debut album, Electronic Music Improvisations Vol. 1, was released in May 2021.[9]

### Mute: A Visual Document

[edit]

In 2017, Miller co-authored Mute: A Visual Document (Thames & Hudson) with Terry Burrows. An illustrated hardback book that detailed the history of Mute Records, it was named Book of the Year by both Rough Trade and Electronic Sound magazine.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Hannah Norbert Miller « Cataloguing the Martin Miller and Hannah Norbert Miller Archive". Norbertmiller.wordpress.com. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
2. ^ a b "Daniel Miller • ENTER". Enterexperience.com.
3. ^ a b c Pages 14–16 Depeche Mode Biography by Steve Malins
4. ^ a b c Page 16 Depeche Mode Biography by Steve Malins
5. ^ Silicon Teens – Judy in Disguise record cover.
6. ^ Page 17 Depeche Mode Biography by Steve Malins
7. ^ Mute Liberation Technologies website, 6 June 2008
8. ^ See for example Sunroof remixes on Discogs.
9. ^ "Electronic Music Improvisations, Vol. 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 January 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Daniel Miller at IMDb
* Mute Records
* Daniel Miller discography at discogs.com

Links for Mute Records

* v
* t
* e

Depeche Mode

* Martin Gore
* Dave Gahan

* Andy Fletcher
* Vince Clarke
* Alan Wilder

Studio albums|

* Speak & Spell
* A Broken Frame
* Construction Time Again
* Some Great Reward
* Black Celebration
* Music for the Masses
* Violator
* Songs of Faith and Devotion
* Ultra
* Exciter
* Playing the Angel
* Sounds of the Universe
* Delta Machine
* Spirit
* Memento Mori

Live albums|

* 101
* Songs of Faith and Devotion Live
* Recording the Angel
* Recording the Universe

Compilation albums|

* People Are People
* The Singles 81→85
* Catching Up with Depeche Mode
* Greatest Hits
* The Singles 86–98
* Remixes 81–04
* The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1
* Remixes 2: 81–11

Singles|

* "Dreaming of Me"
* "New Life"
* "Just Can't Get Enough"
* "See You"
* "The Meaning of Love"
* "Leave in Silence"
* "Get the Balance Right!"
* "Everything Counts"
* "Love, in Itself"
* "People Are People"
* "Master and Servant"
* "Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody"
* "Shake the Disease"
* "It's Called a Heart"
* "Stripped"
* "A Question of Lust"
* "A Question of Time"
* "Strangelove"
* "Never Let Me Down Again"
* "Behind the Wheel"
* "Little 15"
* "Personal Jesus"
* "Enjoy the Silence"
* "Policy of Truth"
* "World in My Eyes"
* "I Feel You"
* "Walking in My Shoes"
* "Condemnation"
* "In Your Room"
* "Barrel of a Gun"
* "It's No Good"
* "Home"
* "Useless"
* "Only When I Lose Myself"
* "Dream On"
* "I Feel Loved"
* "Freelove"
* "Goodnight Lovers"
* "Enjoy the Silence 04"
* "Precious"
* "A Pain That I'm Used To"
* "Suffer Well"
* "John the Revelator" / "Lilian"
* "Martyr"
* "Wrong"
* "Peace"
* "Fragile Tension" / "Hole to Feed"
* "Personal Jesus 2011"
* "Heaven"
* "Soothe My Soul"
* "Should Be Higher"
* "Where's the Revolution"
* "Going Backwards"
* "Cover Me"
* "Ghosts Again"
* "My Cosmos Is Mine"
* "Wagging Tongue"
* "Speak to Me"
* "My Favourite Stranger"
* "Before We Drown"
* "People Are Good"

Video albums|

* The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg
* Some Great Videos
* Strange
* 101
* Strange Too
* Devotional
* The Videos 86–98
* One Night in Paris
* Touring the Angel: Live in Milan
* The Best of Videos Volume 1
* Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09
* Live in Berlin
* Video Singles Collection
* Spirits in the Forest

Tours|

* Black Celebration Tour
* World Violation Tour
* Devotional Tour
* Exotic Tour/Summer Tour '94
* Touring the Angel
* Tour of the Universe
* The Delta Machine Tour
* Global Spirit Tour
* Memento Mori World Tour

Tribute albums|

* I Sometimes Wish I Was Famous
* For the Masses
* A Broken Frame & An Extended Broken Frame by Marsheaux

Related|

| Articles|

* Discography
* Awards and nominations
* Videography
* Peter Gordeno
* Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn

|

Bands|

* Yazoo
* The Assembly
* Erasure
* Recoil
* VCMG
* Soulsavers
* Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience

Albums|

* Counterfeit EP
* Counterfeit²
* MG
* Paper Monsters
* Hourglass
* The Light the Dead See
* Angels & Ghosts
* The Third Chimpanzee
* Imposter

* v
* t
* e

Erasure

* Andy Bell
* Vince Clarke

Studio albums|

* Wonderland
* The Circus
* The Innocents
* Wild!
* Chorus
* I Say I Say I Say
* Erasure
* Cowboy
* Loveboat
* Other People's Songs
* Nightbird
* Union Street
* Light at the End of the World
* Tomorrow's World
* Snow Globe
* The Violet Flame
* World Be Gone
* The Neon
* Day-Glo (Based on a True Story)

Live albums|

* Acoustic Live
* Live at the Royal Albert Hall
* World Be Live

Compilation albums|

* The Two Ring Circus
* Pop! The First 20 Hits
* Hits! The Very Best of Erasure
* Pop! Remixed
* Total Pop! The First 40 Hits
* Pop2! The Second 20 Hits
* 10 Great Songs
* Always: The Very Best of Erasure

Box sets|

* EBX
* From Moscow to Mars

Extended plays|

* Crackers International
* Am I Right? EP
* Abba-esque
* I Love Saturday EP
* Rain: Plus
* Moon and the Sky: Plus
* Boy EP
* Storm Chaser
* Pop! Remixed
* Erasure.Club
* Phantom Bride EP

Singles|

* "Who Needs Love Like That"
* "Heavenly Action"
* "Oh L'amour"
* "Sometimes"
* "It Doesn't Have to Be"
* "Victim of Love"
* "The Circus"
* "Ship of Fools"
* "Chains of Love"
* "A Little Respect"
* "Stop!"
* "Drama!"
* "You Surround Me"
* "Blue Savannah"
* "Star"
* "Chorus"
* "Love to Hate You"
* "Am I Right?"
* "Breath of Life"
* "Take a Chance on Me"
* "Always"
* "Run to the Sun"
* "I Love Saturday"
* "Stay with Me"
* "Fingers & Thumbs (Cold Summer's Day)"
* "Rock Me Gently"
* "In My Arms"
* "Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me"
* "Rain"
* "Freedom"
* "Moon & the Sky"
* "Solsbury Hill"
* "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)"
* "Breathe"
* "Don't Say You Love Me"
* "Here I Go Impossible Again" / "All This Time Still Falling Out of Love"
* "Boy"
* "I Could Fall in Love with You"
* "Sunday Girl"
* "Storm in a Teacup"
* "Phantom Bride"
* "When I Start To (Break It All Down)"
* "Be with You"
* "Fill Us with Fire"
* "Gaudete"
* "Hey Now (Think I Got a Feeling)"
* "Nerves of Steel"
* "Fallen Angel"

Video releases|

* Live at the Seaside
* Innocents
* Wild!
* Abba-esque
* Pop! The First 20 Hits
* Hits! the Videos
* The Erasure Show – Live in Cologne
* Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Related articles|

* Discography
* Yazoo
* Depeche Mode
* The Assembly

* v
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* e

Goldfrapp

* Alison Goldfrapp
* Will Gregory

Studio albums|

* Felt Mountain
* Black Cherry
* Supernature
* Seventh Tree
* Head First
* Tales of Us
* Silver Eye

Live albums|

* iTunes Originals

Compilation albums|

* We Are Glitter
* The Singles

Video albums|

* Wonderful Electric: Live in London

Extended plays|

* Wonderful Electric: Live in London
* Ride a White Horse: Live in London E.P.

Singles|

* "Lovely Head"
* "Utopia"
* "Human"
* "Pilots"
* "Train"
* "Strict Machine"
* "Twist"
* "Black Cherry"
* "Ooh La La"
* "Number 1"
* "Ride a White Horse"
* "Fly Me Away"
* "A&E"
* "Happiness"
* "Caravan Girl"
* "Clowns"
* "Rocket"
* "Alive"
* "Believer"
* "Anymore"
* "Systemagic"
* "Everything Is Never Enough"
* "Ocean"

Tours|

* Head First World Tour
* Tales of Us Tour

Related articles|

* Discography
* Songs
* Awards and nominations

* Category

* v
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* e

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

* Martyn P. Casey
* Nick Cave
* Warren Ellis
* Jim Sclavunos
* George Vjestica
* Thomas Wydler

* Barry Adamson
* Blixa Bargeld
* Mick Harvey
* James Johnston
* Anita Lane
* Kid Congo Powers
* Hugo Race
* Conway Savage
* Roland Wolf

Studio albums|

* From Her to Eternity
* The Firstborn Is Dead
* Kicking Against the Pricks
* Your Funeral... My Trial
* Tender Prey
* The Good Son
* Henry's Dream
* Let Love In
* Murder Ballads
* The Boatman's Call
* No More Shall We Part
* Nocturama
* Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus
* Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
* Push the Sky Away
* Skeleton Tree
* Ghosteen
* Wild God

Live albums|

* Live Seeds
* Abattoir Blues Tour
* Live at the Royal Albert Hall
* Live from KCRW
* Idiot Prayer

Compilations|

* The Best of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
* B-Sides & Rarities
* Lovely Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
* B-Sides & Rarities Part II

Extended plays|

* Distant Sky: Live in Copenhagen

Singles|

* "In the Ghetto"
* "Tupelo"
* "The Singer"
* "The Mercy Seat"
* "Deanna"
* "The Ship Song"
* "The Weeping Song"
* "Straight to You"
* "I Had a Dream, Joe"
* "What a Wonderful World"
* "Do You Love Me?"
* "Loverman"
* "Red Right Hand"
* "Where the Wild Roses Grow"
* "Henry Lee"
* "Into My Arms"
* "(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For"
* "Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow"
* "Love Letter"
* "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!"
* "More News from Nowhere"
* "We No Who U R"
* "Jubilee Street"

Other songs|

* "From Her to Eternity"
* "The Carny"

Cave and Ellis|

* The Proposition
* The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
* The Road
* West of Memphis
* Lawless
* Far from Men
* Hell or High Water
* Wind River
* Carnage

Grinderman|

* Grinderman
* Grinderman 2
* "Get It On"
* "No Pussy Blues"
* "(I Don't Need You To) Set Me Free"
* "Heathen Child"
* "Worm Tamer"
* "Palaces of Montezuma"
* Grinderman discography

Related articles|

* Discography
* Bad Seeds members
* 20,000 Days on Earth
* One More Time With Feeling
* Idiot Prayer
* This Much I Know to Be True
* And the Ass Saw the Angel
* The Birthday Party
* Dirty Three
* Ghosts… of the Civil Dead
* Original Seeds
* Shell Shock
* Tuff Monks
* Sex O'Clock

* Category

* v
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* e

Wire

* Robert Grey
* Graham Lewis
* Colin Newman
* Matthew Simms

* Bruce Gilbert
* George Gill
* Margaret Fiedler McGinnis (touring only)

Studio albums|

* Pink Flag
* Chairs Missing
* 154
* The Ideal Copy
* A Bell Is a Cup
* IBTABA
* Manscape
* The Drill
* The First Letter
* Object 47
* Red Barked Tree
* Change Becomes Us
* Wire
* Nocturnal Koreans
* Silver/Lead
* Mind Hive

Live albums|

* Document and Eyewitness
* Wire on the Box: 1979
* The Scottish Play: 2004
* Live at the Roxy, London – April 1st & 2nd 1977/Live at CBGB Theatre, New York – July 18th 1978
* Legal Bootleg Series: 14 Sept 2002 Metro, Chicago
* The Black Session: Paris, 10 May 2011

Compilations|

* On Returning (1977–1979)
* The Peel Sessions Album
* 1985–1990: The A List
* Behind the Curtain
* Turns and Strokes
* Coatings
* Send
* 10:20

EPs|

* Snakedrill
* Kidney Bingos
* Silk Skin Paws
* The Third Day
* Read & Burn 01
* Read & Burn 02
* Read & Burn 03

Songs|

* "The 15th"
* "Heartbeat"
* "Outdoor Miner"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Dome
* A.C. Marias
* Githead
* Swim
* It Hugs Back
* Fitted

* v
* t
* e

Yazoo

* Vince Clarke
* Alison Moyet

Studio albums|

* Upstairs at Eric's
* You and Me Both

Live albums|

* Reconnected Live

Compilation albums|

* Only Yazoo: The Best Of
* In Your Room
* The Collection
* Four Pieces

Extended plays|

* Nobody's Diary EP

Singles|

* "Only You"
* "Don't Go"
* "Situation"
* "The Other Side of Love"
* "Nobody's Diary"

Other songs|

* "Ode to Boy"
* "Mr Blue"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Depeche Mode
* The Assembly
* Erasure

Authority control databases

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