Gab Lavoie is a Franco-Ontarian musician specializing in synthesizers and sound design based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Originally from North Bay, Ontario, Gab got his musical start by taking piano lessons around the age of 6, going on to eventually complete his ARCT in Piano Performance with the Royal Conservatory of Music. In high school, he played keyboards in his extracurricular rock/pop band, playing covers of popular French-language songs. This has given Gab a strong musical foundation to understand and play in many genres.
In his teens, he became interested in synthesizers and sound design. Gab’s first exposure to a proper synthesizer was through his dad’s old Yamaha DX7. After this, he searched out more traditional subtractive synthesizers like the Roland GAIA SH-01 and Nord Lead 2x. Spending countless hours fiddling on these machines built up Gab’s knowledge on programming synths.
Playing so many synths inspired Gab to record a solo album of experimental, electronic prog-rock music under the name Aurum Fusion. This album showcases his ability for sound design and creating sonic textures. More recently, Gab has also dived into beatmaking. These experiences have helped Gab understand the different roles a synth can take within the arrangement of a song.
Gab has since relocated to Toronto and works there as a freelance synth and keyboard player. In the studio, he has often collaborated with the producer Shawn Sasyniuk, through which he has recorded synths on Daniel Groleau Landry’s EP Chants Lunaires, and on TIBO’s (aka Matt Thibeault) first French language album, Catalepsie. He has also recorded synths and keyboards on two of Alex Southey’s EPs, Common Fantasies, and The Entertainers Bring May Flowers Collection. On the stage, he has played synths and keyboards for artists like Alex Southey, Kyris, Lattitude, Jess Roveda, Rachel Hickey, TIBO, and aniqa dear.
Apart from his work on keys and synths, Gab plays drums as his second primary instrument and finds himself accompanying artists as a side musician in Toronto on both drums and keys. Gab also works as a music producer, having collaborated with artists like ARTÈRES, malc., and pssyclwz.
To work with Gab, email him at gabclavoie@gmail.com or through his contact page here.