Biography
Born in Wigan, Lancashire, England, Roby encountered his Acadian wife during a period of residence in France, after which the pair settled in Toronto, Canada. Before that relocation he had already trained on sitar in India and explored African drumming. Among his earliest musical touchstones were the Beatles, though he ultimately settled on guitar as his main instrument while remaining skilled on bouzouki, African djembe, Irish bodhrán and sitar alike. His first album, 1995’s Utopia Is Not Here, displayed this breadth through socially conscious material, including the track ‘Home Ground’, which addressed the Bosnian war. A roster of Toronto’s leading roots players took part, among them Andy Stochansky, drummer for Ani DiFranco, and the recordings retained a finished quality despite being tracked in a bedroom studio.