About Rob Stuart

A central figure in SLAVE to the SQUAREwave and Electronic Dream Factory, Rob Stuart has produced music with and for many talented artists. He has toured in Canada, the USA and Europe. He is the host of the weekly MIXTAPE SHOW on David Marsden's NYthespirit.com.

1980

Enamoured by the likes of Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, Jean-Michel Jarre and with a passionate love for music and strange sounds, Rob bought his first synthesizer at the age of fifteen just after immigrating to Toronto from London, England. “I worked three summer jobs that first year to save up and buy a Korg MS-20. I couldn’t afford a Minimoog but for $595.00 the Korg was the next best thing”. Armed with his new equipment, Rob started his first fully electronic band in 1980 known as The Plastik Omniums, playfully named after garbage cans that could, at that time, be found at most bus stops in Toronto.

The 80s

At the age of seventeen, Rob joined infamous Toronto, New Wave band Vis-à-Vis as a bass player (real and synth bass) and electronic sound guru, adding sound effects and weird noises à la Brian Eno from early Roxy Music era. After leaving Vis-A Vis a few years later Rob started a studio project with producer/engineer Eric Kofler and guitarist, Bruce Bentley. A four song 12 inch EP was released under the band name of Ear Candy in 1986. The single ‘Part of Me’ would find its way onto the FM airwaves courtesy of CFNY 102.1 FM and college radio. A follow-up, double A-side single ‘Don’t Let My Heart Slip Away/Don’t Push Me’ would also receive favourable airplay and reviews. After signing a failed record deal the following year, Ear Candy broke up.

Around this time Rob and Bruce formed the ambient, improve duo of silent GREEN. The boys would perform real time ambient jams while setting up microphones to record the birds and wildlife outside and capture the sounds as they played the improvised music. The music of silent GREEN would make its way into Sutherland-Chan wellness clinics and yoga classes with a cassette release called ‘Euphoria’.

Electronic Dream Factory

After slowly accumulating more electronic equipment such as drum machines, sequencers and tape machines, Rob started Electronic Dream Factory which would be the name of his solo work as well as his recording studio. E.D.F has released lots of material over the decades with musical styles ranging from industrial to new age to electropop. E.D.F’s music can be heard on all streaming services. In 1989, E.D.F released a self-titled cassette that would make its way to radio DJs Don Berns and David Marsden at CFNY FM. The song ‘So, What of Tomorrow?’ was a winner of the 1989 CFNY FM Great Ontario Talent Search and garnered much airplay.

By 1993, Rob pulled together a touring band with longtime friend/artist and keyboardist Greg Fraser, drummer, Rob Tennant and guitarist, Max. The band played many venues in Toronto with highlighted gigs in Toronto’s downtown HMV store, The State Theatre in Detroit and Pine Knob where the band performed their industrial heavy music to an enthusiastic crowd of 10,000 people.

The 90s

Over time, Rob found himself recording and producing local bands and consequently became executive producer of a CD Compilation titled ‘In-Out-Thru’ which is a 16 song compilation of a wide variety of musical styles, each using MIDI and or electronics as a key writing tool. The CD made its way onto college radio across Canada and would launch the careers of a few electronic musicians involved. Since Rob had one of the first fully digital studios in Toronto, he was also mastering and sequencing CD's for bands and labels including Virgin Records and D.O.V. (Death of Vinyl).

Over the next few years, Rob teamed up with Mojah (Ex Truths & Rights, infamous Political, Toronto Reggae Band) and recorded a slew of original electronic tracks that would again make their way onto College radio as well as being used for TV commercials and industrial videos. Also at this time, Rob teamed up with Terry Gowan (younger sibling and band member to Lawrence Gowan). Rob and Terry would pen two movie soundtracks for low budget films that would make their way to the secondary market. Rob and Terry would also end up winning a song contest on 99.9 FM with the track ‘For Those Whom God’s The Love’.

Boötes Void

During the 2020 lockdown E.D.F. teamed up with electronic band Colony Three. The concept behind the project was to write a new piece of music every month with an accompanying video culminating in an album release at the end of the year. The final result was known as Boötes Void.

SLAVE to the SQUAREwave

In 1998, while performing at a local rave in Oakville, Ontario, Rob met singer/writer/performer Colin Troy. With a passion for great melodies, killer grooves and that classic 80’s sound, Colin and Rob would soon form SLAVE to the SQUAREwave and over the next 20 years release eight albums, multiple videos and tour across Canada, parts of Europe and the USA.

S2TSW would become a favourite of iconic DJ David Marsden, who in 2014 would start NYTHESPIRIT.COM, an on-line, subscription radio station that glorifies the early days of CFNY but also plays new music without limitations. Although Rob had performed as a club DJ in the past, he had never before done radio. David would ultimately ask Rob to become a pop-up DJ on NYTHESPIRIT.COM. Almost nine years later and 370 shows in, you can catch Rob’s MIXTAPE SHOW four times a week where he gets to play whatever he likes. A dream come true!

Join the mailing list