Robert Nation is a Canadian audio engineer and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

as well as co-owner of EMAC Recording Studios in London, Ontario.

Early life

Robert was born and raised on the West Island of Montreal where he attended Dorval High School. Robert's father, Ernie Nation, was the Head of Finance for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. In 1972, Ernie was transferred to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, when RCA's record division was relocated. While in his teens, Robert started mixing live sound for local bands in Toronto and landed himself a gig at the offices of

. After taking a couple of small recording courses, Robert wanted to further his education in recording engineering and music production and moved to London, Ontario where he completed a 3-year diploma in the Music Industry Arts program at

Fanshawe College Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, commonly shortened to Fanshawe College, is a public college in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. One of the largest colleges in Canada, it has campuses in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock ...

. This is where he met his colleague, and eventual co-owner of EMAC Recording Studios,

Joe Vaughan Joe Vaughan is a Canadian recording engineer, musician, and currently, professor of audio engineering in the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College. He is also a founder and co-owner of EMAC Recording Studios in London, Ontario. Early ...

Career

In his last year of college, Robert made the decision to open a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large en ...

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

where the new music scene was vibrant and blossoming. Electronic Media Arts Corporation was first located in downtown London at 343 Richmond Street on the 3rd Floor of a large building, which also housed CKSL Radio. During the first 10 years of operation, Robert refined his record engineering and production talents, and helped EMAC Recording Studios become a destination for local and out of town bands. At the same time, EMAC also began producing commercials for radio and sound for television which allowed Robert to gain experience as a broadcast commercial producer. In the wake of these improvements,

EMAC Studios EMAC Recording Studios is a music and commercial recording facility in London, Ontario, Canada, established in 1979 by Robert Nation and Joe Vaughan. Building EMAC Studios is located at 432 Rectory Street in downtown London, Ontario. The build ...

expanded to a new location in 1990. They purchased a

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

Church at 432 Rectory Street and converted the building into a state of the art recording facility. In 1995, Robert expanded his repertoire to include production sound, audio post-production, and location audio recording for television and film. He has traveled to many parts of the world including: Southeast Asia, France, and throughout the Caribbean to record audio onsite for ''Taste of life: A Gourmet Food Travel Show'' (

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

) and ''High Point: Casinos of the World'' starring

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

. Robert also worked as part of the Canadian Crew for

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ...

’s Academy Award nominated movie '' Sicko''. In 2008, Robert worked as an audio post-production engineer recording dialogue for

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

’s character in

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

's Academy Award winning movie '' Up''. Most recently, Robert mixed stereo and surround tracks for

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 ...

's production of Corteo. Robert is now an audio engineering professor at

in the Music Industry Arts program and continues to operate

. He is also the chair for the Producer of the Year selection committee for Canada’s

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

and a member of the

Audio Engineering Society The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is a professional body for engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or product ...

Selected works

Kittie Kittie is a Canadian Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in London, Ontario in 1996. All of their material has been released through independent record labels, which to date includes six studio albums, one video album, four extended plays ...

– '' Spit'' & ''

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The wor ...

'' * Nicole Scott – ''Self Titled'' * Glenn Bennett – ''I Like My Music With A Beat'' * BURNusBOTH – ''Stray Bullets'' * The Corndogs – ''Love is All'' * '63 Monroe – ''Stinkin' Out The Joint'' * Luddites – ''86-91'' * John James – ''Still The Beat Goes On'' * Mettle - ''Mettle'' * James Clark Institute - ''The Colour of Happy'' * The Bookends - ''A Celtic Celebration'' * Sheep Look Up - ''Sheep Look Up'' *

- '' Corteo''

TV & Film

's Up *

’s Sicko * Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning * High Point: Casinos of the World * Taste of Life: A Gourmet Food Travel Show

References

External links