English musician Bruce Gilbert will release “London Orbital” on vinyl on November 27, 2026, through The Hotel. The album is Gilbert’s sound work for the 2002 Channel 4 film of the same name, directed by Chris Petit and Iain Sinclair.

The film follows the M25, the motorway that circles London, and takes its title from Sinclair’s 2000 book of the same name, which traced the author’s two-year walk around the route. Petit drove the motorway instead, using early digital video and CCTV footage to build the film’s imagery. In Gilbert’s album, the circular road becomes a device for “forward projection” and what The Hotel describes as “a quest for transcendental boredom and extreme impersonality.”

The Hotel presents the release as a sound film, not a conventional soundtrack record. The LP’s booklet carries stills from the film alongside new essays by Petit and Sinclair, and ships from around November 20, 2026, ahead of the full LP, booklet and digital bundle shipping on November 27. A 5-minute excerpt from the album streams now on Bandcamp, where the 18-minute “London Orbital Side A” is also available digitally; “Side B” is exclusive to the vinyl edition.

Gilbert recorded the music and sounds, with writings and voiceover by Petit and Sinclair. Emma Matthews edited the film version for television, and Henry Cyer, who also executive produced the release, edited it for vinyl. Petit and Sinclair supplied the artwork, Jon Wozencroft designed the release, and Kinn handled mastering. Cargo distributes the record, which carries the support of Arts Council England under copyright held by Illuminations Television Ltd, licensed exclusively to The Hotel.

The announcement follows Gilbert’s solo set at Café OTO in London on October 9, 2026, where The Hotel previewed an as-yet-unannounced album with test pressings sold at the merch table, the record now confirmed as “London Orbital”. “London Orbital” can be pre-ordered through The Hotel.

About Bruce Gilbert

Bruce Gilbert, born in 1946, is an English musician and one of the founding members of Wire, the London post-punk band. Alongside Wire, he worked extensively with fellow member Graham Lewis, including in Dome and in AC Marias. With Lewis and Daniel Miller of The Normal and Silicon Teens, Gilbert recorded “Or So It Seems” as Duet Emmo, the trio’s sole collaboration; Miller, Lewis and Gilbert played the record live for the first time in October 2026 at London’s ICA, nearly 45 years after it was recorded, as Side-Line reported at the time.

Gilbert has also released solo work through Mute, Touch and Editions Mego. In October 2026, Wire’s 1991 album “The First Letter”, released under the one-word name Wir after drummer Robert Gotobed’s departure and recorded with Gilbert alongside Colin Newman and Graham Lewis, marked its 35th anniversary. “London Orbital” now gives Gilbert’s standalone sound work for Petit and Sinclair’s film its first dedicated release, arriving on vinyl through The Hotel on November 27, 2026.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

English musician Bruce Gilbert, a founding member of Wire, plays a solo live set at Café OTO in London on Friday 9 October 2026. The night is billed as “The Hotel presents…” and also features Rocheman and performance artist Finn Kennedy. Doors are at 7:30pm, with tickets priced from £13 for Café OTO members up to £20 on the door, available through the venue.

The show is The Hotel’s third evening at Café OTO in 2026. Gilbert’s set previews a new album due from The Hotel later this year. Test pressings of the as-yet-unannounced record will be sold at the merch table.

Finn Kennedy premieres a newly commissioned piece titled “Streams.” Rocheman closes the night with a full band set, performing as a quartet with Fred Lomas on lead guitar, Tom Powell on drums and Tom Wright on keyboards. Rocheman’s second album, “Basin,” was released on vinyl by The Hotel earlier in 2026, following the EPs “Angel Storm” and “Virtua Saint” on Mindseyerecords.xyz. The self-directed feature film “Taurus,” due in 2027, is among the artist’s forthcoming work.

Tickets for The Hotel at Café OTO

Tickets cost £13 for Café OTO members, £17 in advance and £20 on the door, available through the venue’s event page.

About Bruce Gilbert

Bruce Gilbert, born Bruce Clifford Gilbert on 18 May 1946 in Watford, England, co-founded Wire in London in 1976 alongside Colin Newman, Graham Lewis and Robert Gotobed, playing guitar in the band until he left in 2004, following the release of the album “Send.”

After Wire’s first breakup in 1980, Gilbert formed a series of projects with bassist Graham Lewis, including Cupol, Dome, P’o and Duet Emmo. Side-Line covered the 2022 remastered reissue of Duet Emmo’s sole album, “Or So It Seems,” Gilbert’s trio recording with Lewis and Daniel Miller. Gilbert also worked with A.C. Marias, producing the single “Drop/So” in 1980 for the group’s Dome label and co-producing the 1989 album “One of Our Girls (Has Gone Missing),” sharing songwriting credit with Angela Conway.

Gilbert’s solo albums include “This Way” (1984), “The Shivering Man” (1987) and “Ab Ovo” (1996), all released on Mute, followed by “Ordier” (2004), “Oblivio Agitatum” (2009, Editions Mego) and “Diluvial” (2013, Touch), a collaboration with BAW. He also performs as a DJ under the name DJ Beekeeper.

Wire continued without Gilbert after his departure, releasing the mini-album “Nocturnal Koreans” in 2016. Gilbert now appears at Café OTO as part of The Hotel’s third London show of 2026, ahead of a new album the label is set to release later this year.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

(Photo by Angela Conway) Duet Emmo have shared a new track from the remastered reissue of Daniel Miller, Edvard Graham Lewis and B.C. Gilbert’s sole collaboration, “Or So It Seems”, which is out 19 August 2022. “Or So It Seems” has been remastered from the original analogue tapes by Stefan Betke.

Available on vinyl for the first time since its original release, the album has been expanded to double vinyl and is released on special edition white vinyl, as a limited edition of 400 on orange vinyl via Bleep (both with high-definition download), CD and digitally on 19 August 2022.

This is a true classic which should be in your collection without any doubt. You will also recognize where Alan Wilder sampled some of the material for his very first Recoil album “1+2” from 1986. A must-have, and that first Recoil album too.

“Heart Of Hearts (Or So It Seems)” is an 8-minute remix of the album’s title track, originally available on the b-side of the 12” of “Or So It Seems”. You can check the remastered version below.

About Duet Emmo

Duet Emmo was a notable collaboration formed in 1982, comprising Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis, both members of Wire and Dome, and Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute Records and a member of The Normal. The name “Duet Emmo” is an anagram of “Dome” and “Mute”, reflecting the origins of the members.

Their only album, “Or So It Seems”, was released in 1983 by Mute Records and featured a unique blend of the abstract, minimal textures of Gilbert and Lewis, and the rigid, song-based electronics of Miller. This combination promised an engaging hybrid of styles. The title track of the album was also released as a 12″ single, and its B-side, “Heart of Hearts”, was included as a bonus track in CD releases of the album.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

(Photo by Angela Conway) Duet Emmo was a project that emerged in 1982, and it consisted of Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis (in a hiatus in the trajectory of the group Wire of which they were part) together with Daniel Miller. The name Duet Emmo is actually an anagram of the words Mute and Dome. Dome was the band Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert had started in 1980 (originally under the name Cupol) which published a couple of albums.

So how did these three musicians end up together? All three had been friends for a long time as they had all been using Blackwing Studios sharing 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.

Duet Emmo released the – excellent – album “Or So It Seems” in 1983, from which the single of the same name was released. The original 8-track album was recorded in the periods between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day in ’81 and ’82 with legendary engineer Eric Radcliffe at their favoured studio, Blackwing in London. The album’s artwork was a collage by the Brothers Quay redesigned by Bart van Damme. Later, Gilbert and Lewis returned to Wire, while Miller ultimately pursued a career as a producer through Mute.

Coming up now on August 19th is the long-awaited remastered release of the 1983 album “Or So It Seems” on double vinyl, CD and digitally. The reissue has been recently remastered from the original analogue tapes by Stefan Betke and the double vinyl also includes the 8-minute re-mixed 12” b-side version of the title track, “Heart of Hearts (Or So It Seems)” which previously was only available on CD.

Listen to the title track right below.

Here’s how the release will look like.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Earlier this year, in January to be precise, we posted this article “When an April Fools prank becomes reality: ‘STUMM433’ (feat. Laibach, Depeche Mode, …)” describing how Mute would release a box set featuring 50 Mute artists giving their interpretation of John Cage’s silent track “4’33”.

Today, The Normal aka Daniel Miller, has shared his tribute to John Cage’s “4’33””. It will be the first ‘music’ released by The Normal on Mute since the debut 7”. On Mute that is indeed because “Live at West Runton Pavilion”, The Normal’s second release, done with another Mute Records act Robert Rental, was released on Marat Records in Germany as Daniel Miller Robert Rental Live, with a black and white picture sleeve.

But back to 2019. Miller recorded his piece at a site in North London that will be familiar to fans of the label as the site of its foundation: 16 Decoy Avenue. Listen to The Normal’s take on “4’33”” right below.

Daniel Miller: “John Cage’s 4’33” has been present in my musical life for as long as I can remember as an important and inspiring composition. When the idea of every Mute artist doing their own interpretation of the piece came up during a conversation with Simon Fisher Turner, I immediately thought this was the perfect way to mark the label’s MUTE 4.0 (1978 > TOMORROW) series.”

Ironically, last year we had the idea to create an April Fools prank with a fake compilation with a lot of famous musicians covering John Cage 4’33 silent track. We decided not to do it, not sure if most of you would grab the irony.

Which Mute artists are featured in the boxset?

The boxset will feature over 50 Mute artists including A Certain Ratio, A.C. Marias, ADULT., The Afghan Whigs, Alexander Balanescu, Barry Adamson, Ben Frost, Bruce Gilbert, Cabaret Voltaire, Carter Tutti Void, Chris Carter, Chris Liebing, Cold Specks, Daniel Blumberg, Danny Briottet, Depeche Mode, Duet Emmo, Echoboy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Erasure, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, He Said, Irmin Schmidt, Josh T. Pearson, K Á R Y Y N, Komputer, Laibach, Land Observations, Lee Ranaldo, Liars, Looper, Lost Under Heaven, Maps, Mark Stewart / Sonskrif / The New Banalist Orchestra, Michael Gira, Mick Harvey, Miranda Sex Garden, Moby, Modey Lemon, Mountaineers, New Order, Nitzer Ebb, NON / Boyd Rice, Nonpareils, The Normal, onDeadWaves, Phew, Pink Grease, Pole, Polly Scattergood, Richard Hawley, ShadowParty, Silicon Teens, Simon Fisher Turner and Edmund de Waal, The Warlocks, Wire, Yann Tiersen and Gareth Jones.

The designers behind the visuals

Contributing designers include Simone Grant who worked with Miller on a lot of the early Mute artwork (The Normal, Fad Gadget and Depeche Mode); Steve Claydon, a member of Add N To (X) who designed for Goldfrapp; Slim Smith, who worked with Mute through the 1980s and 1990s; Malcolm Garrett, who designed the “House of Illustrious” box set for Vince Clarke and Martyn Ware; Tom Hingston, who has worked with Erasure and created the majority of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Grinderman artwork since the early 2000s; and Anton Corbjin, who has worked closely with Mute on many campaigns since the early 1980s, including those of Depeche Mode, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Fad Gadget.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Last year we had the idea to create an April Fools prank with a fake compilation with a lot of famous musicians covering John Cage 4’33 silent track. We decided not to do it, not sure if most of you would grab the irony. You can imagine our surprise when Mute announced a box set this morning featuring 50 Mute artists giving their interpretation of… yes, 4’33.

From the artist that started Mute, The Normal, to the label’s newest signing, K Á R Y Y N, “STUMM433” will feature over 50 Mute artists – including Depeche Mode, Yann Tiersen, Liars, Silicon Teens, Irmin Schmidt – presenting their own interpretation of one piece of music: John Cage’s 4’33”.

Fortunately you’ll get a visual to accompany each ‘performance’ of 4’33”. The box set launches with a video from Laibach which you can see below.

Net profits from the release of STUMM433 will be split between the British Tinnitus Association and Music Minds Matter. These charities were chosen to honor Inspiral Carpets’ founding member Craig Gill who suffered from anxiety and depression as a result of his tinnitus in the years up to his untimely death. The box set will be released in May 2019.

Artists featured include: A Certain Ratio, A.C. Marias, ADULT., The Afghan Whigs, Alexander Balanescu, Barry Adamson, Ben Frost, Bruce Gilbert, Cabaret Voltaire, Carter Tutti Void, Chris Carter, Chris Liebing, Cold Specks, Daniel Blumberg, Depeche Mode, Duet Emmo, Echoboy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Erasure, Fad Gadget (tribute), Goldfrapp, He Said, Irmin Schmidt, Josh T. Pearson, K Á R Y Y N, Komputer, Laibach, Land Observations, Lee Ranaldo, Liars, Looper, Lost Under Heaven, Maps, Mark Stewart, Michael Gira, Mick Harvey, Miranda Sex Garden, Moby, Modey Lemon, Mountaineers, New Order, Nitzer Ebb, NON, Nonpareils, The Normal, onDeadWaves, Phew, Pink Grease, Pole, Polly Scattergood, Renegade Soundwave, Richard Hawley, ShadowParty, Silicon Teens, Simon Fisher Turner, The Warlocks, Wire, Yann Tiersen.

Side-Line also covered Laibach’s ‘Click Interview’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Due April 29 is a brand new (mini) 8-track album by Wire. “Nocturnal Koreans” follows the release of WIRE’s self-titled album last year. You can listen to the first single (and album titled track) below.

Note that Bruce Gilbert did not participate in this album as the current line-up now exists of Colin Newman, Graham Lewis, Robert Grey and Matthew Simms.

Here’s the first single:

It’s been almost a decade since Wire reemerged from their post-send hiatus, during which — not for the first time in its history — the band appeared to have run its course.

UK-based Wire was formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (bass, vocals), Bruce Gilbert (guitar), and Robert Gotobed (drums). They were originally associated with the punk rock scene and were later central to the development of post-punk.

Between 1981 and 1985, Wire ceased recording and performing in favour of solo and non-Wire collaborative projects such as Dome, Cupol, Duet Emmo, and several Colin Newman solo efforts. Gotobed left the band in 1990, after the release of the album Manscape. After his departure, the band dropped one letter from its name, becoming “Wir” (still pronounced “wire”). It was not until 1999 that Wire again became a full-time entity.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Pankow’s Maurizio Fasolo has sent us his TOP 10 albums from the period 1981-1984. The TOP 10 comes hand in hand with the re-release of Pankow’s first cassette “Throw Out Rite”, originally released in 1983. It’s nowadays sold for over 100 Euros on Discogs and is very rare.

Artoffact is releasing a CD and vinyl editions (EU orders are available here) of “Throw Out Rite” for the first time ever. The audio is remastered from the original tape.

And that’s not all, we also offer you an exclusive FREE download of the remastered version of “Das Wodkalied”! Get it below:

Here is Pankow’s TOP 10 albums from 1981-1984 with additional comment by Pankow’s Maurizio Fasolo.

1. Duet Emmo ‎– Or So It Seems – 1983

Maurizio Fasolo: “The Masterpiece… so layered and so rich in contrasts that you never get tired of it, the presence of Daniel Miller brings a geometric sheen to it.”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com