Robert was born and raised on the WestIsland of Montreal where he attended Dorval High School. While in his teens, he started mixing live sound for local bands. Robert's father, Ernie Nation, was the Head of Finance for RCA Records and in 1972 he was transferred to Toronto, Ontario, when the record division was moved. After taking a couple of small recording courses, Robert began mixing live sound for some Toronto acts and landed himself a gig at the offices of RCA Records. Wanting to further his education in recording engineering and music production, Robert moved to London Ontario where he completed a 3-year diploma in the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College. This is where he met his colleague, and eventual co-owner of EMACRecording Studios, Joe Vaughan.
Career
In his last year of college, Robert made the decision to open a recording studio in London, Ontario 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 expanded to a new location in 1990. They purchased a Salvation Army Church at 432 Rectory Street and converted the building into a state of the artrecording 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 and High Point: Casinos of the World starring Kenny Rogers. Robert also worked as part of the Canadian Crew for Michael Moore’s Academy Award nominated movie Sicko. Most recently, Robert worked as an audio post-production engineer recording dialogue for Christopher Plummer’s character in Pixar's Academy Award winning movie Up. Robert is now an audio engineering professor at Fanshawe College in the Music Industry Arts program and continues to operate EMAC Studios. He is also the chair for the Producer of the Year selection committee for Canada’s Juno Awards and sits on education panels for the Jack Richardson Music Awards and the Audio Engineering Society.
