2008 see's the release of Rob's 4th studio album, working title ' Breaking the Cycle' recorded with multi Juno winning producer Brandon Friesen in Winnepeg, Canada.
Also Rob has been working with producer and long time friend Tom Jackson writing text and melodies for a project called Rauschhardt, with guitarist Tom Rauschhardt, bass player Jacki Reznicek, drummer Carsten Enghardt, keyboard player Christoph von Haniel and managed by Andy Korb from A K Music Express. The album 'Different Energy's' will be released later in the year.
Rob was born in 1970 in Portsmouth, England. At
a young age he moved with his family to Harrogate, where he grew
up as a Yorkshireman. During his first decade, both of his parents
were plagued by ill health and Rob missed a couple of years of
school. As well as caring for his parents, he watched record-setting
amounts of television – what he missed out on with his conventional
educational, he made for by acquiring an encyclopediac knowledge
of old films, old music and popular culture, perhaps laying the
foundations for his own career as a musician. At the very least,
it made him everyone’s ‘phone a friend’.
Early
musical experiences were as a singer of blues and jazz, starting
with performances in local venues in Yorkshire at fifteen. He
immediately caught the attention of the local music scene with
his extraordinary voice and green (sometimes blue) hair. A succession
of bands followed, where Rob was singing other people’s
songs, either covers or original material written by other band
members. This gave him the impetus to learn to play the guitar
– “So I wouldn’t excluded from musical discussions
in rehearsals.” As his playing improved, he started writing
for the first time, and organising jam sessions for other musicians
in Yorkshire.
When
his father died in 1993, he felt the need to leave town and hit
London. “I could either stay there and keep fucking up my
life or start again and make the most of what my Dad passed on
to me.” Rob’s first musical collaboration in the capital
was with Alvin Gibbs of the UK Subs, who’d been in Iggy
Pop’s band for the previous two years. Through Alvin, Rob
came to the attention of then-fledgling south London indie Invisible
Hands Music. Initially signed in 1995 to a development deal, IHM
put Rob out on the road supporting Midge Ure, Procul Harum and
Errol Brown; and he recorded with a band that included drummer
Chuck Sabo (now with Natalie Imbruglia), It Bites keyboard player
John Beck, and produced by Dexy’s Midnight Runners bassist
Nigel Ross-Scott.
The
debut album, Waiting For The Tide, was recorded in the summer
of 1996 in Hampshire with an all-star cast featuring drummer Darren
Mooney from Primal Scream, bassist Jon Noyce from Jethro Tull,
Lenny Kravitz keyboard player Reg Webb and produced by ace guitarist
Greg Bone (Seal, Sting, Take That). Even sound engineer Robin
Black was a legend, having engineered albums by Wings, the Who,
and Pink Floyd’s classic Wish You Were Here. The sessions
were electrifying and the album that resulted is an accomplished
opening to a career. The first single was an authentic and beautiful
cover of the Arlen/Cohler jazz standard Stormy Weather (the only
cover on Waiting For The Tide), considered by many afficianados
to be the definitive performance of the song. In the UK, the single
was well-received, whether it was beating the likes of Louise
and Hanson in a national radio Juke Box Jury, or being given the
Single Of The Week accolade by Jazz FM. Second single Take It
Easy continued Rob’s take-over of the airwaves as he travelled
the length and breadth of the country performing live sessions
on dozens of BBC and ILR stations and on the launch of the nation’s
newest terrestrial television network Channel 5.
A
period of writing and touring followed, mixed with more spiritual
paths such as studying meditation and Reiki, during which Rob
adopted two terrifying pet snakes (scaring the shit out of visiting
label staff in the process). In September 2000, a seven-track
midprice mini-album entitled Samsara Never Sleeps was released
to end the silence and inevitably it met with critical acclaim.
Respected UK music monthly Mojo made Samara Never Sleeps one of
their four ‘Critics Choice’ for the month, and the
album sold well across the world, despite the long gap since Waiting
For The Tide.
After
a period of experimental recording for a label in Germany, which
included sessions with the Munich Symphony Orchestra and some
5.1 Surround mixes, Rob returned to the UK in the autumn of 2002
and set about recording his third album Sightseeing in London.
The musicians assembled for the recording included live stalwarts
Carl Holt on bass, Michael Bramwell on keyboards and the Everest
of funk himself, Carlos Hercules on drums. Additional guests included
guitarist Steve Harris from Gary Numan’s band, keyboard
player Richard Cottle (Seal, Manics, The Beloved) and Sting’s
percussionist Miles Bould. The album was finished in December
and mastered at Abbey Road and since January has been making friends
and influencing people in it’s current form as a highly
sought-after promo.
First
single Sweet Mother hit the airwaves in July, staying on the Radio
2 playlist for an astonishing five weeks; and Radio 2 invited
Rob to perform two tracks live to a massive radio audience as
part of their Great British Music Debate. Regional radio was equally
enthusiastic, racking up over 40 playlists. In Europe the single
has been A listed by Belgiums’s equivalent of Radio 1 and
Holland is equally positive – the Sightseeing release date
in Benelux has been brought forward to accommodate demand.