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Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon (2014)

Where the lyrics of Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon take you, and where it was really made.

Kid Cudi's fourth studio album was first announced as an EP and became a full album in January 2014, then arrived with only a few hours' notice.

Key places

Glenwood Studios, Burbank (2014)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — Listed as a recording location for this album. Only the city center of Burbank is marked here, not the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Chalice Studios, Los Angeles (2014)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Listed as a recording location for this album. Only the city center of Los Angeles is marked here, not the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Electric Lady Studios, New York City (2014)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — Listed as a recording location for this album. The point is placed on the studio building in New York City. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon: fourth studio album by American musician Kid Cudi
• Digital release on 25 February 2014 through Wicked Awesome Records and Republic Records
• Announced with only a few hours' notice and released at midnight
• Ten tracks; the only guest appearance is Raphael Saadiq on Balmain Jeans
• Kid Cudi produced all tracks; Dot da Genius co-produced some of them
• Title track contains a sample of Coronado II by Polaris

Background

• Revealed in October 2013 during a show in Dallas, Texas, first as an EP
• Presented as a prelude to Man on the Moon III, planned at the time as a later album
• Changed from an EP to a full-length album in late January 2014
• Described by Cudi as a bridge between Indicud and Man on the Moon III
• Man on the Moon III was finally released in December 2020

Recording

• Iain Findlay handled recording on most tracks and mixing on all tracks
• Vlado Meller mastered all tracks
• The Larry Gold Orchestra played strings on track 3

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, was born January 30, 1984 in Cleveland, Ohio.
• He began rapping in 2003 and moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue a music career.
• His song "Day 'n' Nite" gained online attention in 2007, leading Kanye West to sign him to GOOD Music in 2008.
• His debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi was released in July 2008.

Career

• Debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009) reached commercial and critical success and received quadruple platinum certification.
• Second album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010) received platinum certification.
• Formed the rock band WZRD, whose 2012 debut topped the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart.
• Album Indicud (2013) peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.
• Formed the duo Kids See Ghosts with Kanye West in 2018.
• Single "The Scotts" with Travis Scott (2020) became his first number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Released Man on the Moon III: The Chosen (2020) and Entergalactic (2022).
• Acted in HBO's How to Make It in America, Need for Speed, and Bill & Ted Face the Music, among other works.
• Won two Grammy Awards and has sold over 22 million units domestically.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reviews were generally mixed; Metacritic average score 60 from 9 reviews
• Exclaim!: Erin Lowers gave six out of ten and said the originality admired in Cudi's work falls short here
• Consequence of Sound: Whagle gave D+ and said the album is a bridge that cannot stand on its own
• Pitchfork: Jayson Greene gave 6.0 and singled out the final stripped-down song
• HipHopDX: Edwin Ortiz gave four out of five stars and called it one of Kid Cudi's biggest accomplishments
• XXL: Emmanuel C.M. gave an XL rating and called the album dense and short
• NME: Al Horner gave eight out of ten and said the record is leaner than Indicud
• Critics praised some of the production and the surprise release strategy

Records

• Billboard 200 debut at number four, with 87,000 first-week digital copies in the US
• Second week US sales of 8,300
• US sales reached 117,000 as of November 2015
• Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart: number 2
• Complex named it the 31st best album of the first half of 2014

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Cudi announced the album with only a few hours' notice, using tweets such as "1 hour til launch..."
• The iTunes Store first showed an April 29, 2014 release date, which Cudi called a glitch
• Media outlets compared the surprise launch to Beyoncé's self-titled album, and also to Jay-Z's and Kanye West's surprise releases
• Cudi said he had aimed for January and wanted the album out around his 30th birthday
• He said the physical edition might add bonus tracks, which he called "deleted scenes" or "flashbacks"
• In March 2014 he promoted the album on Chelsea Lately and The Arsenio Hall Show

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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