After launching the retrospective project 604 Decades last year, 604 Records has announced a coinciding open house gallery taking place for free in Vancouver during JUNOfest (in partnership with Exclaim!) at the label's headquarters.
The Decades archival series aims to spotlight Vancouver's music history with recordings from deserving but overlooked artists from the '90s and 2000s. Taking the series to the gallery, the label promises to further showcase unreleased deep cuts, unearth stories, and host panel discussions and live performances from Movieland, 64 Funnycars, Stephen Hamm and more.
Movieland's recent comeback epitomizes the work of the Decades initiative, with the shoegazers' collection of '90s cassettes rereleased through 604 finally gaining deserved recognition through spots on Earshot! More releases are planned (for 64 Funnycars and alt-rockers Pure) — and 604 co-founder Jonathan Simkin aims to continue shining a light on more lost local treasures.
"It feels like a second chance. I love that there's all these hidden scenes and stories in this city that we can now hold up to the world," Simkin explained.
"I'm getting weirdly sentimental about the music scene in Vancouver in the '90s and the early '00s. That's very close to me," he shared. "It's when I first started working in the music business. I was just a lawyer then; I didn't even have the label — that wasn't even something I thought of doing! I just worked with a lot of bands, and a lot of them were really fucking great."
Exclaim! is a proud co-presenter of the 604 Decades Open House Gallery, which will run from 12–7 p.m. on March 29 at 795 E Cordova Street. Find more information about the Decades project here.