Arbutus Records is a

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

and management company founded by Sebastian Cowan in 2009. The label is named after the street by the same name in Vancouver, where Cowan grew up. The label have also begun expanding outside of Montreal, signing international artist Σtella, from Athens, Greece, on April 16, 2019, and Toronto-based trio Rapport on August 28, 2019.

History

Arbutus Records was created by a community of artists and musicians from the Montreal DIY music scene that came together in the 4600 square foot

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

, warehouse loft space called Lab Synthèse. Lab Synthèse was co-founded by Sebastian Cowan in 2007. The record label was created in order to promote and cultivate the bands associated with the space. Police shut down Lab Synthèse and Cowan began managing the artists that performed there shortly after, resulting in the formation of Arbutus Records. Cowan and the label kickstarted the music careers of

Blue Hawaii ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Americ ...

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has in ...

Majical Cloudz Majical Cloudz was a Canadian music group from Montreal consisting of singer-songwriter Devon Welsh and Matt Otto. The group disbanded in March 2016. History Welsh, the son of actor Kenneth Welsh and Corinne Farago,Sean Nicholas Savage Sean Nicholas Savage (born London May 30th, 1986) is a Canadian Singer, Songwriter, and Musical Playwright. He has been described by Emilie Friedlander in an article for ''The Fader'' as "a singer-songwriter, madcap philosopher, and all-around sc ...

and TOPS among others early on. Arbutus records fosters a family environment that is not often seen in labels of its size, and as a result many of the artists under the label have remained in the label for over ten years. The label operates as a

DIY ethic "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

community of multimedia artists and musicians, who work collaboratively to develop and release music which combines punk ethos and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

Label values

Arbutus Records was founded based on ideals that stemmed from the values of Constellation Records, focusing on curating individuality rather than a common sound. The label considers the release of records as a creative and collaborative process, moreover that the "art

ade Ade, Adé, or ADE may refer to: Aeronautics *Ada Air's ICAO code *Aden International Airport's IATA code *Aeronautical Development Establishment, a laboratory of the DRDO in India Medical * Adverse Drug Event *Antibody-dependent enhancement *ADE ...

is that of the artist", and they will always work in service of that. Ensuring that each artists vision and desires are communicated to the fullest extent possible is a priority at Arbutus Records. The label also puts emphasis on DIY culture in the music that they release and supporting their artists to accomplish more with very little. Arbutus Records treats those they work with as family. They believe that everyone should be treated equally and have access to a quality music experience, whether in the form of appreciation or creation.

Artists

Braids A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...

Doldrums The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal e ...

Graham Van Pelt Graham Van Pelt is a Canadian musician currently based on Salt Spring Island. He performed in Montreal based acts Miracle Fortress and Think About Life throughout the 2000s. Since 2018 Van Pelt has been releasing material under his own name. L ...

Lydia Ainsworth Lydia Miriam Ainsworth is a Canadian composer, producer and singer based in Toronto. She has released four albums, the Juno-nominated ''Right From Real'', ''Darling of the Afterglow'', ''Phantom Forest'', and ''Sparkles & Debris''. Early life an ...

Majical Cloudz Majical Cloudz was a Canadian music group from Montreal consisting of singer-songwriter Devon Welsh and Matt Otto. The group disbanded in March 2016. History Welsh, the son of actor Kenneth Welsh and Corinne Farago,Michael Stasis Michael Stasis is the musical project of Michael Bostock (born September 26, 1986). Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he now lives and records in Los Angeles. He has been writing and recording songs since age 13, and has accumulated a catalogue of ...

Moon King Moon King is the synth-pop project of Canadian songwriter and producer Daniel Benjamin. Moon King's music has been described as dream pop, electronic pop or indie rock. Recently the project's sound has shifted to include disco, synthpop and house ...

* Σtella *

Sean Nicholas Savage Sean Nicholas Savage (born London May 30th, 1986) is a Canadian Singer, Songwriter, and Musical Playwright. He has been described by Emilie Friedlander in an article for ''The Fader'' as "a singer-songwriter, madcap philosopher, and all-around sc ...

Tonstartssbandht Tonstartssbandht (pronounced -starts-banditTonstartssbandht
. Allmusic. Ret ...

TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...

Discography

References

External links

Arbutus Records
{{Authority control Record labels established in 2009 Canadian independent record labels