Vancouver’s 604 Records is set to revive the city’s rich musical legacy with the launch of its new archival imprint, 604 Decades. Leading the charge is the release of “I Relate,” the first single from Then & Now, a collection of rare tracks by cult shoegazers Movieland, which dropped in October. Founded by Alan D. Boyd in 1991, Movieland’s signature sound fused dreamy melodies with introspective lyrics, capturing the essence of ‘90s underground music. This project aims to celebrate the overlooked yet vital voices of Vancouver’s alternative scene, with more releases to follow, including an album by Pure in 2025.
Q: In your opinion, what are the essential qualities that make a “good songwriter”? That is a very tough thing to answer. Good songwriting is being able to encapsulate a story or a feeling into a short space of time and using tropes of genre that work with it. Sometimes that’s about sound more than lyrics - there is not any one thing. If you can get it finished in the first place it’s a good start. One thing I would say - don’t feel you need to be ’truthful’ or ‘honest’. People that drive home the myth of the artist ONLY as someone who lays their soul out is false. Sure some people do and can but some people just make it all up.
Q: What is the basis for writing attention-grabbing music in this day and age? Pretty interesting question as there are now thousands of songs released every week by pretty talented people. People who play guitar and sing amazingly; people who can produce consummate pop in their bedrooms; people who can generate provocative lyrics and stories; people who create beats and rhymes I could not imagine putting together. Standing out in the noise is not easy and I think one needs to focus on what it is you enjoy doing rather than trying to grab someone’s attention. It’s the ‘content’ and socials that drives music these days for a big part of it. But that’s interesting ‘cause you can be making music in the middle of nowhere and still get it out to the world. You know what they say 99% perspiration 1% inspiration.
Q: Can you pinpoint some specific songs and songwriters that changed the way you write music? I think that I was always drawn in by the sonics of music so when I heard things like My Bloody Valentine it made me want to make those sounds or listening to they Byrds wanting the jangle of the guitars. I’ve got a few different projects that satisfy different needs musically as well as doing TV & Film music so the influence of Cliff Martinez is as much as that of something like Sault. Sometimes though it’s the attitudes I admire or want to emulate more that the specific music.
Q: Do you find it hard to be inspired by your peers? Can you name any new artists you find inspiring? Sault (inflo) is perhaps the biggest inspiration that I have had in recent years. I was listening to Giles Peterson on BBC 6 Music as he played out Untitled (Black Is) as I lay in bed recovering from an extreme illness. It was amazing. I like listening to the radio for this - for variety and introduction to new things. I find it way more interesting than the algorithms that the streamers push on everyone. I’m also hanging out a record store in South London (Dash the Henge) and been introduced to great things there and they have live music every day. Also there was a great music festival in London called Raw Power where I discovered loads of great bands - Girl Band, M(a)hol, Pig Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - so many! I always like playing with acts taht are different - not all the same.
Q: For the album you are promoting, what inspired the lyrical content, album title, and overall vibe? Then & Now is a collection of songs from the 90s that were inspired by girls, going out and existential crisis! The world was smaller then and Vancouver felt like the edge of the universe and I was pretty full of angst. We were hanging out with the art school crowd and lots of people from the prairies who’d moved there to escape winter I think. There are great bands coming through from the US & UK that really inspired us so the music on the record is varied - Dinosaur Jr, Swervedriver, MBV, Slowdive etc. we saw them all at theCommodore Ballroom. This was all before ‘alternative’ music had a place on any radio and then it all changed… I think the album is a snapshot of a time when we were trying to push out some boundaries but no one was ready yet.
Q: Do you find that you ruminate over writing songs and hold on to them for a long time before including them on a record? Or do you prefer to write them, release them, and be done with them? Do you ever re-visit old material to do a re-write or once it’s done it’s done? I work pretty fast. Often writing a song and pretty much thinking it’s done in a day. Sometimes as they are recorded I’ll make changes - make some decisions. But I don’t often come back to work on a song though I will think through the lyrics and try to hone them - but again this often comes in the recording process - which I think is a big part of modern songwriting. Also I think if you get a group of musicians together to play a song it then starts to come alive and if you take to long it can kill it.
Q: Were there any lessons you learned in the writing and recording process for your current release that you will take with you into your next project? These are songs from 30 years ago and I think they have reminded me about having limitations and how good that is. We had 8 tracks to work with and had to be as creative as possible using them. Now in a DAW you can have hundreds of tracks - but should you? Of course it can be really creative but to perform - be live - record a performance in a room with people with noise spilling etc. I still like that and the follow up record Now & Then coming in 2025 was recorded in much the same way as these tracks from 30 years ago - in a small studio with limited resources
D I S C O V E R
Label: https://www.604records.com/
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