Attaining new heights

Owen Campeau (left) and Aaron Richardson (right) two of Attainable Record’s founders, pose for a photo in the U of L’s recording studio on Oct. 19, 2015.

Owen Campeau (left) and Aaron Richardson (right) laughing about how the other two founders are missing out photo on Oct. 19, 2015.

Owen Campeau (left) and Aaron Richardson (right) laughing about how the other two founders are missing out photo on Oct. 19.

Attainable Records, a new label hoping to unite the different local art scenes, looks to gain traction as they prepare to open their doors to the community.

During spring exams of 2015, four friends enrolled in Digital Audio Arts at the University of Lethbridge had the seed of their own record company embedded in their minds.

Not long after moving to Lethbridge each member noticed a void in the music community, a niche that needed to be filled. Discovering many of their peers shared similar sentiments, Attainable Records felt inspired to fill the void.

Originally they never gave much consideration to the thought but as director of artist experience and archives Duncan Metcalfe says, they registered for Digital Audio Arts for a reason.

“We didn’t think it would be super serious, obviously we’re passionate about generating that level of creativity,” Metcalfe said.

Throughout their dog days they held Skype meetings to establish weekly business plans and eventually, brand architect Aaron Richardson explains, they saw their brainchild manifest into a physical form.

“As the summer progressed we started getting more serious about it, we talked to business consultants and came up with a viable means to set up a space,” Richardson said.

With no time to waste, they returned from their summer vacation hungry and determined. In the midst of inking a studio lease, they gambled and launched days after school began.

With the unexpected success of the launch, Attainable backed out of their original lease and found a studio better suited to their needs. Given only three weeks to promote the event, social media and community marketer Owen Campeau, expressed his gratitude.

“We hit the ground running with this, people came along and really supported us,” Campeau said. “It’s really great we have that much support.”

Attainable described a feeling of distance from traditional record labels and inhibition towards being regarded as a business. They envision Attainable as much more than a record company and as a society not only for music, but also the entire art community.

“I didn’t expect so many people messaging us, even people who aren’t musicians,” Richardson said. “We’ve had a couple of drama troops who wanted to come in and use the space to put on a couple of shows, we’re totally up for that.”

Witnessing their project have a great deal of success in a short period of time, has instilled a feeling of empowerment individually and as a team. Even though they’ve accomplished more than they initially predicted they explain, often time’s people are quick to judge them.

“People don’t believe me the first time I say it, I’ll say I’m working with a record label right now and they’re like pff. People think we’re four guys sitting in a basement with one mic,” Campeau said.

Attainable Records hopes to keep their early momentum rolling in Nov. with a three-day music festival at multiple venues around Lethbridge.

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