Robin Auld

Born to Ayrshire Scots parents in Lusaka, Zambia, Robin Auld's childhood was spent alternating between Southern Africa and Scotland, a state of constant movement that was to continue into his later musical search. The beach and surfing were the main elements of his early years in Cape Town, and he considered becoming a pro surfer at one stage. His formative musical career was based more on his abilities as a guitarist than as a singer. He learned to play the guitar by listening to Hendrix and Neil Young, and wrote songs influenced by western singer/songwriters. Later on he also absorbed influences from the guitarists of Southern Africa.

His first public appearances were as a guitarslinger sideman in several Cape Town outfits, before starting to write and sing his own material at various late night venues. His first solo album "At the Corner", produced by Kevin Shirley, became a cult favourite around False Bay but raised no interest nationally.

The next step for Auld came with his role as frontman for the band Z-Astaire. This band had several Shirley-produced hits in SA, (Shirley went on to become the successful producer of rock bands like Journey and Aerosmith) and Auld was promoted as a Cape Town surfer poster boy. However, the growing gulf between the bands musical reality and their glossy profile was something Auld found increasingly restrictive. After two years of national pop success he moved to the UK for space to breathe, where he started incorporating Southern African and Celtic guitar elements into his songwriting. The result of this process was the contemporary mix of pop songwriting and roots influences that characterizes his music today.

Since then he has worked alternately in SA and the UK, with stints in New York and Nashville, producing and releasing albums on his own Free Lunch label.

2005 saw him in the UK playing on the acoustic roots circuit promoting the international release "Diamond of a day", playing at various festivals and acoustic clubs. He is currently in Cape Town promoting the new album "Jungle of One", performing shows nationwide with old friend and drummer/percussionist Barry van Zyl, in a roots/pop collaboration that will be recording later this year.