Dead Oceans

Dead Oceans, Inc. is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, and part of the Secretly Group, operating alongside Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar. Founded in 2006, the label has developed a roster associated with contemporary indie and alternative music, with releases spanning singer-songwriter work, guitar-driven bands, and genre-adjacent projects that move between rock, pop, and experimental approaches.

The label’s identity is closely tied to its position within the Secretly Group ecosystem, which also includes Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar. Dead Oceans has been described as a related imprint to those labels, and it has served as a home for artists whose work sits within modern independent music’s mainstream-facing and exploratory ends. Among the best-known names associated with the label is Mitski, whose presence on the roster reflects Dead Oceans’ profile as a platform for distinctive, authorial songwriting within an indie framework.

Dead Oceans’ catalog also includes artists that illustrate the label’s stylistic range. Khruangbin’s inclusion points to an openness to groove-oriented, cross-genre instrumental and song-based work, while Toro y Moi reflects a connection to indie pop and electronic-leaning production. The label has also been associated with acts such as Slowdive, indicating activity in atmospheric rock and related forms. Across these examples, Dead Oceans is less defined by a single sound than by a curatorial emphasis on artists with clearly articulated aesthetics and strong album-level identities.

In addition to established names, the label has released music by projects such as Durand Jones & The Indications and Aaron Frazer, suggesting an interest in modern soul and R&B-informed songwriting within an indie-label context. Artists like Avalon Emerson and MRCY further underline the breadth of material connected to Dead Oceans, from electronic-rooted work to contemporary band and vocal projects. Through its Bloomington base and its relationship to the Secretly Group, Dead Oceans has remained identified with the American independent label tradition while maintaining an outward-facing roster with international reach.