Artist:Raphael
Album:Music To Disappear In
Year: 1988
Genre:Ambient, Instrumental, New Age
Country:United States
Music to Disappear In combines sublimely angelic atmospheres and trance-like dream dances - a new romantic music in the Vangelisian tradition that's sonically lush and emotionally luscious.
An emotional experience of peacefulness
The first four pieces reveal RAPHAEL's classical roots, building from solo piano to ethereal choirs and full orchestration, including an exquisite version of the "In Paradisum" movement from Faure's Requiem.
Pieces 5 through 8 reveal the more primal side of the artist's inspiration, with an earthy, tribal trance music that successfully bridges Western and ethnic genres.
About the artist - Raphael... was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and raised by Benedictine nuns. Under their tutelage and encouragement, he developed a love for music, first learning about classical music and Gregorian chant. As a young man, after playing gypsy violin on the streets and utilizing his talents in rock bands, Raphael studied the piano formally at the San Francisco Conservatory.
He later spent a decade at Esalen, the renowned Northern California spiritual community. It was during his time there that he began to blend his various influences, draw from multiple cultures for compositional inspiration, and forge his signature style of healing and relaxation music.
Originally issued in 1989, Music To Disappear In was his first recording for the label Hearts of Space. A bit dated by this juncture, these nine songs, all original compositions but for the traditional opener ("Disappearing Into You"), use piano and keyboards as a central voice, creating a lulling web of atmospheric string sounds complemented by flute and percussion.
