About musician/songwriter Art Robinson

One of my earliest childhood memories was hearing the music my parents played, my father loved to play Dave Brubeck records and my mother liked show tunes like the soundtrack to Oklahoma and anything with Julie Andrews. In my Grandparents attic they had a Victrola, a hand cranked record player, with lots of 78-rpm records and I would play them over and over again. At the age of 4 while visiting a family friend I heard the first Beatles album and was mesmerized by the sound and rhythms, that album became one of the first I would own. Growing up in the Detroit area I would often fall asleep to the sound of Motown and other pop or rock music on the radio. To me each song was like a window into another dimension, another world, I didn’t care much about the musical style at the time as long as it was a great song with energy and a story to tell.

One song that stands out from that period was “Open my Eyes” by the group Nazz. The first time I heard it on the radio I was shocked, intrigued, and inspired by the sound and the energy of it and wanted to know who they were. Already experimenting on the family piano I bought my first guitar at the age of 9 and wrote my first song shortly thereafter. During my formative years I continued to write while my developing musical interests grew more diverse, I loved the rock legends of the time like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and The Who, but was also drawn toward Jazz artists like Pat Metheny,Return to Forever and the songwriting of Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel, and Todd Rundgren. A few of the many artists and bands that I continue to admire are Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack, Radiohead, Patti Smith, Brian Eno, Shawn Colvin, and REM. There are really too many to mention…

Aside from my passion for songwriting I’ve also maintained a keen interest in technological advancements and the producers, musicians, recording artists, and engineers that push the envelope and expand the capabilities of their instruments and other tools that results in great sounding and sometimes-otherworldly music. You know who you are and your work continues to inspire me. Thank You.