BC’s Newest Record Label Sows Local Talent

The idea came together organically.

Smithers-based musician Naomi Kavka had been germinating the concept for a while. In October, she approached her friend, fellow musician and local journalist Pamela Haasen, with a business idea: The duo could meld their respective skills to create a vinyl record label that would help grow the local music scene.

The seed was planted for Understory Records, an independent record label focused on northern artists. The pair got to work approaching musicians, signing contracts and having recordings re-mastered for vinyl.

Months later, they are preparing to launch both the label and its first project — a compilation album featuring nearly a dozen music acts from northern B.C. and Yukon.

“I want to have a music farm stand,” Kavka laughs as she explains the concept during an interview at Haasen’s home office in Smithers.

If Understory Records is a local music vendor, you could think of their first release, Understory Records Volume One, as the label’s organic farm box. Instead of introducing you to kohlrabi and turnip greens, the compilation is an eclectic mix of local artists with various music styles.

Among the 11 music acts featured on the album are Kavka’s band Pitted and Haasen’s band deathanol. While many are from the Smithers area, they also hail from Terrace, Prince Rupert, Whitehorse and Quesnel.

Apart from Kavka, none of the artists have previously had their music released in an analogue format.

“If you think of music as an ecosystem, these are the artists that are in the undergrowth,” she says. “They are the really rich parts of the ecosystem that contribute so much to it, but often get overshadowed.”

A return to analogue joys

As an independent musician, Kavka has had to navigate the process of producing an album many times over. She hopes to use her experience as a project manager to help other artists navigate things like working with budgets, studios and producers.

“It’s hard to promote your own music,” she says. “It’s always easier to pump up your friends.”

But for their first release, the pair is keeping things simple. They have connected with an enthusiastic group of artists who already had recorded music ready to convert to vinyl. Victoria-based Standard Vinyl is manufacturing the album, a process supported through a grant from the local Bulkley Valley Arts Council.

In a sense, Understory is to the local music scene what the slow food movement is to local eating. In the age of AI and algorithms, it offers an opportunity to browse the local fare and connect with artists in a tangible way.

The physical act of committing songs to vinyl “creates a different mindset for the lasting value of music,” Haasen says.

“You pick a time to listen to it. You play it for your friends. It’s something you want to share with someone else. In that way, it’s changing the way that we have started to consume music by trying to slow it down a little bit,” she says.

Placing an album on your turntable and dropping the needle is an event, the pair points out. It involves not just intention and purpose, but a physical connection to the artist. It invites you to put your feet up and surrender to the music for the better part of an hour — the antithesis of allowing a streaming service to decide your music and, by extension, your mood.

“I don’t feel nourished when I listen to a playlist on Spotify, in the same way that I don't feel nourished when I eat fast food,” Kavka says. “But I do feel more nourished when I go to a festival and watch my friends play or when someone makes me a mixed CD.”

A better deal for musicians

Musicians also take home a significantly higher return on albums sales than over online streams, she points out.

But while Understory’s focus is on vinyl, they have also approached a Canadian streaming service called Hio about providing a digital platform for their music. Hio was “built by artists for artists,” according to founder Ryder Havdale, and directs 100 per cent of subscriptions back to artists instead of “padding the pockets of the Trump oligarchy.”

Plans are also in the works to launch a syndicated community radio show and podcast based at Smithers’ CICK radio, where Haasen works as a community news reporter, that will feature the label’s artists.

Understory Records officially launches on Feb. 28 with an event at the Smithers Brewing Co. that will feature musicians Wedgwood, Urchin and Naomi Kavka. Their compilation album will also be available for purchase on their website.