A group of aficionados and adepts in the realm of electronic music, the Electronic Group of Seven was formed to discuss production techniques and share the arcane knowledge of the synthesizer, digital music and recording. In semi regular zoom meetings, friendships are renewed and projects are planned. These have included choosing a particular favoured song and doing a cover version in each member's unique style. Active group members include: Clay Eccles, Greg Fraser, Scott MacLean, Richard Heyfron, Rob Stuart, Benjamin Russell and Robert Best.
The latest group project was to take YELL, Benjamin Russell and Rob Stuart's recently released song, back to the drawing board. Audio stems (the separated tracks) from the original mix were provided and each EG7 member broke it down and reconstructed it in their own inimitable fashion. The widely varying results are featured in EG7 The YELL Remixes, an EP which is being launched on November 16, 2022.
Greg studied classical piano as a child and jazz/blues as a young adult. In the mid 80s he played many classic synths in a New Wave band, Kyro, and in the 90s keyboards in EDF (Electronic Dream Factory). Today he writes and records songs and experimental music.
scott
Scott MacLean
Scott MacLean has been involved in music all of his life. With his first synthesizer purchase at age 17, a path was set, and he has worked at creating and remixing music in one form or another ever since. With many years’ experience working as a club DJ as well as a brief stint in radio, he developed an innate sense of what gets people onto the dance floor. Today, purely as a labor of love, he spends time in his home studio writing and recording music that makes him feel good, and it's a pleasure to put his "spin" on this remix!
robs
Rob Stuart
Enamored by the likes of Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, Jean-Michel Jarre and a passionate love of music and strange sounds, Rob bought his first synthesizer at the age of fifteen just after immigrating to Toronto from London, England. Rob has produced/recorded/remixed many people and bands and has performed with The Plastik Omniums, Vis-à-Vis, Ear Candy, Electronic Dream Factory (E.D.F) and SLAVE to the SQUAREwave. Rob is also a DJ on David Marsden’s on-line radio station NYTHESPIRIT.COM. He teamed up with Benjamin Russell in 2020, during lockdown and is proud to be releasing the album ‘Something In F Minor’ in 2023.
benjamin
Benjamin Russell
I am a multi-genre singer-songwriter, painter, writer, videographer and graphic artist (I design all my album covers), originally from Saskatoon, a small city in Saskatchewan, a prairie province in western Canada. I now live in Montreal, Quebec. My partner in life and art is Elyce. My songs are wide-ranging in style and hard to pin down, with influences from folk to punk, from rock to jazz and classical. In the 80s I was nominated for my electro pop album. I've even made a country album, HALF TON TRUCK. I'm happy Rob introduced me to this excellent group of creative individuals.
richard
Richard Heyfron
Richard Heyfron arrived in Toronto in 1981 from London England with one guitar and some other things. Folk Jazz Blues Rock was the order of the day, started mucking about with synths which would steer him in another direction. Stumbled into his neighbour who had a ton of cool synths which turned out to be Rob Stuart. Made some tracks together and been friends ever since. Big love for old analog synths and Library Music and Miniature Schnauzers.
clay
Clay Eccles
After making his first multi-track recordings around the age of ten, Clay discovered alternative and progressive rock. His first keyboard was an Accordion with a hoover vacuum motor! Following exposure to Apple 2 and desktop PC’s in the early 80’s, Clay developed audiovisual skills, leading to a digital audio home studio in the 90’s. Gear that has been used in this studio: MK VI Mellotron, Moog LP, Nord Electro, Novation MiniNova and various wind synthesizers. Presently, Clay is on a mission to save space and move all sound sources and effects processors inside his laptop PC.
robb
Robert Best
After devoted beginnings as a classical pianist, around the age of 16 Robert discovered jazz, alternative and progressive rock. At this time, he encountered the exciting possibilities of recorded sound and synthesizers as realized by extraordinary artists like Brian Eno, David Bowie, Talking Heads and John Foxx. This divergence from classical piano performance lead to all sorts of new projects in Toronto. In the 70s, he provided piano/keys for a number of shows and performances including Goddo, Isle of Man, Partial Segments, Method Acting and solo projects. From the early 80s to the present, Robert has done a number of collaborations with his longtime musical compadre Rob Greenway (aka brilliantfish, Mr. Blvd) which include SWIMMING 1-3, music/lyric contributions to “brilliantfish” and Greenway Blvd records. While living on the west coast of Canada (1987-2006) he created a South African/jazz/pop fusion band called Rob Best’s World Jive (1998-2000) recording the album “Motsoala (Cousin)”. He then returned to his home city of Toronto where he completed a D.M. in Composition at U. of Toronto (2014). Presently, Robert’s doing online teaching and involving himself in collaborative projects. Recently he had discussions with Rob Stuart who invited him into EG7. With EG7, he is excited to see what all of these wonderful artists can realize for modern recorded musical/visual art while hopefully learning more skills of digital audiovisual art.