Raphael

Artist Name: Raphael
Country: France


Raphaël Haroche was born in the Paris suburbs, on 7 November 1975. With a Russian lawyer for a father and an Argentinean lawyer for a mother, Raphaël grew up surrounded by the best of both cultures, absorbing the influence of haunting Slav ballads as well as the fast and furious energy of South American rhythms. Raphael developed a passionate love of music at an early age and he was soon pounding away on the family piano, practicing his scales. In his early teens he started out experimenting with the saxophone, but soon came to realize that his need for true creative freedom would only be satisfied by the guitar. Making the most of all that modern technology had to offer, Raphaël also made inventive use of samplers and computers in writing his first songs. The album "Je sais que la terre est plate" was released in March 2008. The first single release, "Le Vent de l'hiver", was infused with a Gypsy sound, for instance, and "La Jonque" (with lyrics by Boris Bergman) had a touch of Asia about it. Overall, on this new album Raphael proved he was more than a chart-topping phenomenon. He touched on both social and political themes while remaining in his own highly personal music universe.