Robin Hawkins

Robin Hawkins (born 11 February 1986), commonly known as Rob is the primary vocalist and bassist for Welsh band The Automatic.

Rob Hawkins
Rob and Iwan on the 2008 club tour
Background information
Birth nameRobin Hawkins
Born (1986-02-11) 11 February 1986
GenresIndie rock, electro, pop punk
InstrumentsVocals, bass, guitar, keyboards/synths, flute
Associated actsThe Automatic
WebsiteRobs livejournal

Personal life

Rob studied at Cowbridge Comprehensive School, completing his A-levels and going on to take a chance with The Automatic in his gap year. Originally Rob was more interested in playing flute, joining the Cardiff and Vale Youth Orchestra, however later, at the age of 12 after buying a bass from Automatic guitarist James Frost, he taught himself to play and eventually saved enough money to afford his Fender USA Jazz Bass.[1] Hawkins speaks Esperanto as a hobby.[2] He graduated from Cardiff University with a first-class honours degree in Computer Science. His final year project was an investigation of musicality perception in an evolutionary context, the results of which were published in ICMC'14.[3]

Robin currently resides in Bristol where he manages a dairy farm producing cheese.

Musical career

Lead vocalist and bassist, Hawkins also has been seen playing a variety of other instruments for The Automatic, most notably the flute during the band's performances of Gold Digger and the synthesizer during performances of "This Is A Fix".[4]

Notable appearances

On 9 January 2007, he and former band-mate Alex Pennie stood in for Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, in a series of stand-ins whilst Zane Lowe was on holiday. The line-up also included fellow band on B-Unique Records, Kaiser Chiefs, as well as The View, Snow Patrol, and The Zutons.[5]

Equipment

Rob predominantly uses a Fender USA Jazz Bass which he saved for and purchased before the band were signed in 2002. He has used and purchased various bases, however prefers his Jazz bass to other models he has used.[6]

References
  1. "People ask me what it's like to have a famous son". icwales.icnetwork.co.uk (Interview with AnneMarie Hawkins, Robs Mum). October 30, 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  2. "The Automatic's Rob Hawkins on learning Esperanto". Bbc.co.uk. August 23, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  3. "μTunes: A Study of Musicality Perception in an Evolutionary Context" (PDF). Speech.di.uoa.gr.
  4. Sadler, Darren (2008-01-04). "Automatic For The People! Brit Crusaders Steeled to Kick-start UK rock". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  5. "Bands stand in for Lowe on Radio 1". digitalspy.co.uk (Matt Houghton). December 5, 2006. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  6. "From the feature Automatic Success, Video interview with Robin Hawkins, the equipment Rob uses". Show Me How To Play. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
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