Dead Oceans, Inc., is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

founded in 2006 and based in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

History

On June 30, 2006, Phil Waldorf founded Dead Oceans with Chris Swanson. Swanson suggested the name Dead Oceans, which came from the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "

A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" is a song written by American musician and Nobel laureate Bob Dylan in the summer of 1962 and recorded later that year for his second studio album, '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' (1963). Its lyrical structure is based ...

" (1963). Chris' brother Ben Swanson,

Darius Van Arman Secretly Group is a family of United States, American independent record labels based in Bloomington, Indiana. The group is made up of Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, and Dead Oceans. Secretly Canadian, the first of the labels, was formed in 1996 ...

, and Jonathan Cargill of

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, part of the Secretly Group. The Secretly Group includes record labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publis ...

and

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. History In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public resear ...

also helped to found the label.Dave Maher
"Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar Birth Dead Oceans"
''Pitchfork Media'', February 19, 2007. The label was launched in 2007, and is part of

Secretly Group Secretly Group is a family of American independent record labels based in Bloomington, Indiana. The group is made up of Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, and Dead Oceans. Secretly Canadian, the first of the labels, was formed in 1996 by brothers C ...

. In 2017, the label released

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

band Slowdive's first album in 22 years. In 2018, Dead Oceans was listed as #7 on ''Paste'' magazine's top-10 record labels of 2018.

Artists

A Place to Bury Strangers A Place to Bury Strangers are an American rock band formed in 2002, in New York City. The trio is currently composed of Oliver Ackermann (guitar/vocals, bass), John Fedowitz (bass guitar) and Sandra Fedowitz (drums). Commonly known by the initi ...

Akron/Family Akron/Family were an American folk-influenced experimental rock band active from 2002 to 2013. Former members have lived in Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; and Joshua Tree, California. Music and history Though each member of the ba ...

Alex Lahey Alexandra Lahey ( ) is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released three full length albums: '' I Love You Like a Brother'' (2017), '' The Best of Luck Club'' (2019) and ''The Answer Is Always Yes ...

Bear in Heaven Bear in Heaven was an American indie rock band from New York City, formed by Jon Philpot in 2003. The sound of the band incorporates influences from psychedelic music, electronic music and krautrock. History Philpot has previously released mu ...

Better Oblivion Community Center Better Oblivion Community Center was an American indie rock superduo consisting of musicians Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers. They released their self-titled debut album on January 24, 2019, through Dead Oceans. Background Oberst and Bridge ...

Bill Fay William Fay (9 September 1943 – 22 February 2025) was an English singer-songwriter. His early recordings were released by Deram, but following the release of his second album in 1971, Fay was dropped by the label. His work enjoyed a growing ...

Bishop Allen Bishop Allen is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, United States. The band's core members are Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, who are supported both on stage and in the studio by a rotating cast of musical collaborators. The ...

Bleached Bleached is an American pop band consisting of sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, formerly of Mika Miko. The band plays a style of rock, pop, rock and roll, and indie rock. Bleached was established in Los Angeles in 2011. The group has relea ...

Bowerbirds Bowerbirds () make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate. The family ...

Brazos The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

* Bright Eyes *

Califone Califone is an experimental rock band from Chicago. The band is named after Califone International, an audio equipment manufacturer. Their work has been critically acclaimed. Roots & Crowns review AllMusic Califone has released an album and f ...

Cassandra Jenkins Cassandra Jenkins is an American singer-songwriter from New York City. Early life and education Cassandra Jenkins was born into a musical New York family. Her parents played on cruise ships in the 1980s. She learned how to play the guitar and si ...

Citay Citay is an American, San Francisco-based band currently released on Dead Oceans. The band was formed in 2004 by Ezra Feinberg as a studio project with Tim Green from The Fucking Champs, and some help from others. There is now a live band inclu ...

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The b ...

Dub Thompson Dub Thompson is an American indie rock music duo consisting of Matt Pulos and Evan Laffer, originating from Agoura Hills, California. The duo plays a style of post-punk, post-rock, punk rock, alternative rock style experimental rock music. Dub Tho ...

Durand Jones & The Indications Durand Jones & The Indications is an American contemporary R&B and soul group founded by the core songwriting trio of singer Durand Jones, singer/drummer Aaron Frazer, and guitarist Blake Rhein. Formed in 2012, the band came to prominence as par ...

Evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

* Fenne Lily *

Frog Eyes Frog Eyes are an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada fronted by Carey Mercer. Their 2010 album ''Paul's Tomb: A Triumph'' was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. They have released ten albums and two EPs ...

* Gauntlet Hair * Greg Mendez *

Japanese Breakfast Japanese Breakfast is an American indie pop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 2013. The project is fronted by vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter Michelle Zauner; she is joined in its current iteration by long-serving music ...

Jensen McRae Jensen Paige McRae (born September 10, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter. She gained prominence for her debut singles "White Boy" (2019) and "Wolves" (2020). Her music has been recommended by ''Rolling Stone'', Vulture, ''Nylon'', ''NPR'', an ...

John Vanderslice John Warren Vanderslice (born May 22, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. He is the owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, an analog recording studio in San Francisco, California, San Francisco and O ...

Julianna Barwick Julianna Barwick is an American musician who composes using electronic loops. Her first album, '' The Magic Place'', was released in 2011. Music career Barwick has said that her music is influenced by her participation in church choir while gro ...

Kane Strang Kane James Strang is a New Zealand musician from Dunedin. He has released a demo album, ''A Pebble and a Paper Crane'' (2013), and three studio albums: ''Blue Cheese'' (Ba Da Bing Records, 2016) ''Two Hearts and No Brain'' (Dead Oceans, 2017), a ...

Kevin Morby Kevin Robert Morby (born 2 April 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. A former member of Woods (band), Woods and The Babies, Morby has released seven solo studio albums: ''Harlem River (album), Harlem River'' (2013), ''Still Li ...

Khruangbin Khruangbin ( ; , , ) is a musical trio from Houston, Texas, Houston, Texas. The band consists of Laura Lee (bassist), Laura Lee Ochoa (bass guitar and vocals), Mark Speer (guitar and vocals), and Donald "DJ" Johnson (drums, keyboards, and vocals ...

* Mark McGuire * Marlon Williams *

Mitski Mitsuki Laycock (born September 27, 1990), also known as Mitski Miyawaki, and known professionally as Mitski, is an American singer-songwriter. She Self-publishing, self-released her first two albums, ''Lush (Mitski album), Lush'' (2012), and '' ...

* Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band *

Nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

* On Fillmore *

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers on acoustic guitar and Electronic music, electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has won four Grammy Aw ...

* Phosphorescent *

Ryley Walker Ryley Walker (born July 21, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rockford, Illinois. Biography Walker, and critics, have cited the band Genesis and singer-songwriter Nick Drake as early influences. Walker began his career ...

* Scowl *

Shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...

Sloppy Jane Sloppy Jane is an American chamber pop/rock band fronted by Haley Dahl based in Brooklyn, New York. The band released their breakthrough second studio album, '' Madison'', in 2021, through Saddest Factory Records, an imprint owned by their former ...

Slowdive Slowdive (stylized in lowercase) are an English people, English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Neil Halstead (vocals, guitars), Rachel Goswell (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Christian Savill (guitars) ...

Strand of Oaks Strand of Oaks is the rock project by songwriter and producer Timothy Showalter (born July 20, 1982). Originally from Indiana, he currently resides in Austin, Texas. His music has been classified as Rock music, rock and folk music, folk, as well a ...

* Sun Airway * The Donkeys *

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...

The Luyas The Luyas are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History The Luyas did their first live performance in December 2006. Their first album, ''Faker Death'' came out in August 2007, and was re-released in Januar ...

The Tallest Man on Earth Kristian Matsson (born 30 April 1983) is a Swedish singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name The Tallest Man on Earth. Matsson grew up in Leksand, and began his solo career in 2006, having previously been the lead singer of the Indepen ...

These Are Powers These Are Powers was an American experimental music group from Brooklyn, New York and Chicago, Illinois, United States. The band mixes polyrhythm with samples and other electronic sounds and noise rock. History These Are Powers were an avant-g ...

Tom Rogerson Tom Rogerson is a British musician. He is the founder of Three Trapped Tigers and has also made music with others, such as '' Finding Shore'' (2017) with Brian Eno. Career Rogerson is from Suffolk. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Lon ...

* Toro y Moi *

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...

* White Hinterland

References

External links

Dead Oceans official website
{{Authority control American independent record labels Indie rock record labels Alternative rock record labels Record labels established in 2007 Indie pop record labels 2007 establishments in Indiana

History

Artists

See also

References

External links