Third Man Records announces Michigan space-rock & shoegaze compilation

Third Man Records is excited to announce Southeast of Saturn, a collection of music from Detroit’s space-rock/shoegaze/dream pop scene of the ‘90s, to be released November 20, 2020 digitally and on vinyl. To celebrate the announcement, Third Man has shared Majesty Crush’s “No. 1 Fan” — listen HERE, and pre-order/pre-save the album HERE. Exclusive limited edition copies of Southeast Of Saturn on Deep Space Dark/Aqua Wave colored vinyl will be available in select independent record stores across the US and in UK/EU, as well as in both Nashville and Detroit storefronts. To highlight the heavy UK influence on many of these bands, keep an eye out for a special London release day event – TBD.

HEAR MAJESTY CRUSH’S “NO. 1 FAN”

WATCH THE SOUTHEAST OF SATURN TRAILER

It makes sense that Detroit had a buzzy, thriving space-rock scene in the ‘90s. What American city’s denizens had a more urgent need to disengage and think outside the grim, post-industrial rustbelt realities? With space-rock (and its close sonic cousin shoegaze) being at once expansive and introspective, it naturally appealed to the young, intelligent artists who gravitated toward its vertiginous orbit.

The music of Southeast Of Saturn did not arise organically from metro Detroit’s fertile soil. Locally, garage-rock, goth-rock, neo-hippie groups, and the usual preponderance of adequate bar bands dominated the landscape. Thirsty Forest Animals guitarist Andrew Peters summarizes the prevalent attitude among the Motor City’s space-rock contingent: “I don’t think we really noticed the local Detroit scene earlier on. We were more into the bands you would see in the NME / Melody Maker, zines, and records – mostly from the UK – on the walls at Play It Again”. If anything was a major factor locally, it was Play It Again, the independent record store in the suburbs of Detroit that nurtured the scene with its amazing curation of imports and killer used records picked up on owner Alan Kovan’s British record buying trips.

Penned “Detroit Space-Rock”, the scene centered around Burnt Hair Records, Burnt Hair CEO Larry Hoffman’s Life According To Larry radio  show,  Zoot’s  Coffeehouse  and  bands,  such  as  Windy  &  Carl,  Asha  Vida,  Füxa,  Auburn  Lull, and Majesty Crush. It was a modern movement of a more traditional “space-rock”  sound,  infl  uenced  less  by  The  Stooges  and  MC5  and  more  by Spacemen 3, Loop, My Bloody Valentine and krautrock bands like Can and Neu!. Even the best-known artists on Southeast Of Saturn – Windy & Carl, Majesty Crush, Füxa – never achieved mainstream success, but within the rock underground, they inspired a cultish devotion that burns to this day.

If you missed their evanescent output  the  first time around, this compilation will get you up to speed over its 19 mind-altering tracks.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

SOUTHEAST OF SATURN

(THIRD MAN RECORDS)

RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 20, 2020

1. Majesty Crush – “No. 1 Fan”

2. Spectacle – “She Doesn’t Believe”

3. Thirsty Forest Animals – “Nape”

4. Füxa – “Photon”

5. The Delta Waves – “Andromeda Drone”

6. Windy & Carl – “Instrumental #2”

7. Asha Vida – “Eskimo Summer”

8. Ten Second Dynasty – “Continuum”

9. Children’s Ice Cream – “The Hand Of God”

10. Miss Bliss – “Grey”

11. Astrobrite – “Crasher”

12. Naming Mary – “Stardriver”

13. Glider – “Shift”

14. Space Monkeys – “Serenity”

15. Jazzless – “Something Warm About The Rain”

16. lovesliescrushing – “youreyesimmaculate”

17. Calliope – “Laughing At Roadsigns”

18. Auburn Lull – “June-Tide”

19. Thumbling – “Butterfield Eight”