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, 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,
Grimes,
Majical Cloudz,
Sean Nicholas Savage 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 community of multimedia artists and musicians, who work collaboratively to develop and release music which combines
punk ethos and
pop music. == Label values ==