Mute Daniel Miller didn’t set out to establish one of the UK’s biggest independent labels when he released a single in 1978 as the Normal, but that’s how it turned out. The single, a surprise success, had Miller’s address on the back, and hopeful musicians started sending him demos. He decided to release some of them, and Mute Records has had an idiosyncratic hold on British music ever since. Guided by his love of synth music, Miller signed acts such as Depeche Mode, but Mute’s aesthetic is hard to pin down. How does one categorise a label whose back catalogue includes Nick Cave and Moby, Add N to (X) and Goldfrapp?

Photograph: Mute