Raphaël Haroche is a French singer who performs under the name Raphael.

Biography

His father is Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 and his mother is from Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. During his childhood and his adolescence, his idoles were David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

, Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

, Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

, Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

, Téléphone

Téléphone

Téléphone was a French rock band formed in 1976 by Jean-Louis Aubert , Louis Bertignac , Corine Marienneau and Richard Kolinka ....

, and Barbara. He played piano and guitar and did not love school

In 2000, Raphaël released his first album Hôtel de l'univers (the title is a tribute to Arthur Rimbaud

Arthur Rimbaud

Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...

)), but it was not until three years later that he enjoyed his first mainstream success with the song Sur la Route, a duo with famous French singer Jean-Louis Aubert

Jean-Louis Aubert

Jean-Louis Aubert is a French guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has also composed music for the cinema and for television, including the soundtrack for the film I've Loved You So Long, starring Kristin Scott Thomas .In 1976, he co-founded the rock band Téléphone...

, included in his second album La Réalité. With this album, he chose folk music

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

.

In 2005, Raphaël released his third album, Caravane, to huge critical acclaim and commercial success. He received three Music's Victories

Victoires de la Musique

Victoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...

 in 2006.

In September 2006, Raphaël released the double live album Résistance à la nuit featuring songs from his first three albums as well as a nod to Íngrid Betancourt

Íngrid Betancourt

Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...

 in the form of the songs La petite chanson and Ceci n'est pas un adieu.

At the beginning of 2007, Raphaël became a member of the supergroup

Supergroup (music)

In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....

 Les Aventuriers d'un autre Monde with Jean-Louis Aubert

Jean-Louis Aubert

Jean-Louis Aubert is a French guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has also composed music for the cinema and for television, including the soundtrack for the film I've Loved You So Long, starring Kristin Scott Thomas .In 1976, he co-founded the rock band Téléphone...

, Alain Bashung

Alain Bashung

Alain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor.- Youth :Alain Bashung was the son of a Breton factory worker and French Kabyle father, whom he never knew. His mother remarried, and at the age of one, Bashung was sent to Strasbourg to live with his new stepfather's parents...

, Cali (singer)

Cali (singer)

Cali is a French singer-songwriter.- Biography :Cali was born 28 June 1968 in Vernet-les-Bains near Perpignan, to an Italian father and Catalan mother. A fan of English rock and French chanson during his youth, Cali was also a keen rugby player. He played for his region and Perpignan...

, Daniel Darc

Daniel Darc

Daniel Darc , born Daniel Rozoum, is a French singer, who has achieved success with his band Taxi Girl between 1978 and 1986, and also as a solo artist...

, and Richard Kolinka.

In February 2007, Raphaël released his live acoustic album Une nuit au Châtelet which is partly a tribute to French singers such as Bernard Lavilliers

Bernard Lavilliers

Bernard Lavilliers is a French singer.He was born Bernard Oulion in Saint-Étienne, Loire.The band Fatals Picards wrote a song Bernard Lavilliers, satirizing Lavilliers' image as a former adventurer.-Discography:...

, Gérard Manset

Gérard Manset

Gérard Manset is a French singer-songwriter, painter, photographer and writer, most well known for his musical work.Since 1972, the covers of his albums state his name as simply "Manset"...

, and Serge Gainsbourg

Serge Gainsbourg

Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...

. Amongst the many musicians working on this project was ex-David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 pianist Mike Garson

Mike Garson

Mike Garson is an American pianist, most notable for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Billy Corgan, Free Flight, and The Smashing Pumpkins.- Early career :...

.

Raphaël's fourth studio album, Je sais que la terre est plate was released on the 17 March 2008. This album featured the song Haïti, a collaboration with the Jamaican group Toots & the Maytals

Toots & the Maytals

Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...

.

On 27 September 2010, Raphaël released his fifth studio album, Pacific 231.

In 2010, he played a role in the movie Ces amours-là

Ces amours-là

- Plot:Ilva is a woman who falls in love too quickly. Unaware and unconcerned about how her passion may be perceived, she finds herself having to live with the consequences of her actions. First, in the middle of the German occupation in Paris, she falls for a Nazi, which indirectly leads to the...

directed by Claude Lelouch and released on 15 September 2010.

Personal life

Raphaël has a son named Roman, born 28 May 2008, with long-term partner French actress Mélanie Thierry

Mélanie Thierry

Mélanie Thierry, is a French actress best known to international audiences for her role as Aurora in the 2008 film Babylon A.D.-Biography:...

.

Hôtel De l'univers (Hotel of the Universe) (2000)

1. Cela nous aurait suffi
2. Qu'on est bien dans ce monde
3. Laisse Faire
4. Hôtel de l'univers
5. La meute
6. Ici tout va bien
7. On craindra plus les balles
8. Choisis ton camp
9. Petite annonce
10. T'apporter mon amour
11. Libre service

Sales

Chart	Certification	Sales
France SNEB Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...	Non	-

La réalité (The Reality) (2003)

1. Comme un homme à la mer
2. O Compagnons
3. Il ira loin
4. La mémoire des jours
5. Il y a toujours
6. Au temps des colonies
7. Être Rimbaud
8. 1900
9. Sur la route
10. La réalité
11. Des mots
12. Suivez la musique

Sales

Chart	Certification	Sales
France SNEB Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...	Platinum	307,000+

In the end of 2003 the album La réalité was re-released with two new songs, a radio version of O Compagnons and a video clip.

Caravane (Caravan) (2005)

1. Caravane
2. Ne partons pas fâchés
3. C'est bon aujourd'hui
4. Chanson pour Patrick Dewaere
5. Et dans 150 ans
6. Les petits bateaux
7. La route de nuit
8. Schengen
9. Peut-être a-t-il rêvé ?
10. La ballade du pauvre
11. Funambule

Sales

Chart	Certification	Sales
France SNEB Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...	Diamond	1,127,000+

A limited edition which has a bonus DVD came out the same day.

Une nuit au Châtelet (2007)

1. Happe (de Alain Bashung
   Alain Bashung
   Alain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor.- Youth :Alain Bashung was the son of a Breton factory worker and French Kabyle father, whom he never knew. His mother remarried, and at the age of one, Bashung was sent to Strasbourg to live with his new stepfather's parents...
   
   )
2. J'l'ai pas touchée (Christophe
   Christophe (singer)
   Christophe is a French singer and songwriter. He was born Daniel Bevilacqua on 13 October 1945 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne to Italian parents....
   
   )
3. C'est bon aujourd'hui
4. 1900
5. Élégie funèbre (Gérard Manset
   Gérard Manset
   Gérard Manset is a French singer-songwriter, painter, photographer and writer, most well known for his musical work.Since 1972, the covers of his albums state his name as simply "Manset"...
   
   )
6. Ceci n'est pas un adieu
7. Élisa (Serge Gainsbourg
   Serge Gainsbourg
   Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
   
   )
8. Caravane
9. Sur mon cou (Jean Genet
   Jean Genet
   Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
   
   )
10. Les petits bateaux
11. Saint-Étienne (Bernard Lavilliers
    Bernard Lavilliers
    Bernard Lavilliers is a French singer.He was born Bernard Oulion in Saint-Étienne, Loire.The band Fatals Picards wrote a song Bernard Lavilliers, satirizing Lavilliers' image as a former adventurer.-Discography:...
    
    
12. Des mots
13. Sur la route
14. Poste restante
15. Ne partons pas fâchés
16. Une petite cantate (Barbara
    Barbara
    -People:* Barbara , people with the given name Barbara* Etienne Barbara , Maltese soccer player* Barbara , stage name of French singer Monique Andrée Serf-Places:* Barbara , ancient region in the Horn of Africa...
    
    )
17. Et dans 150 ans

Je sais que la terre est plate (I know the earth is flat) (2008)

1. Le vent de l'hiver
2. Je sais que la terre est plate
3. Adieu Haïti
4. Le petit train
5. Sixième étage
6. La jonque
7. Quand c'est toi qui conduis
8. Concordia
9. Tess
10. Les limites du monde
11. Transsibérien

Pacific 231 (2010)

1. Terminal 2B
2. Bar de l'hôtel
3. Locomotive
4. La petite misère
5. Manteau jaune
6. Je hais les dimanches
7. Ce doit être l'amour
8. Le patriote
9. Versailles
10. Dharma blues
11. Je détruis tout
12. Prochaine station
13. Odyssée de l'espèce
14. L'alphabet des gens (bonus)
15. Dépression n°7 (bonus)
16. La fée (bonus)

Albums

• Caravane album trajectory in Switzerland, peak #9
• Hotel de l'univers album trajectory in France, peak #107
• La réalité album trajectory in France, peak #24
• Caravane/La réalité album trajectory in France, peak #89
• Caravane album trajectory in France, peak #1

Singles

• "Sur la route" (with Jean-Louis Aubert
  Jean-Louis Aubert
  Jean-Louis Aubert is a French guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has also composed music for the cinema and for television, including the soundtrack for the film I've Loved You So Long, starring Kristin Scott Thomas .In 1976, he co-founded the rock band Téléphone...
  
  )
• "Caravane"
• "Ne partons pas fâchés"
• "Et dans 150 ans"
• "Schengen"
• "Le vent de l'hiver"
• "Adieu Haiti" (featuring Toots)
• "Le petit train"
• "Bar de l'hôtel"

Awards

• Victoires de la Musique
  Victoires de la Musique
  Victoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...
  
  

  Male Artist of the Year: 2006

  Album of the Year (Chanson, Variety): 2006 (Caravane)

  Original Song of the Year (People's Award): 2006 (Caravane)

• NRJ Music Awards
  NRJ Music Awards
  The NRJ Music Awards, created in 2000 by the radio station NRJ in partnership with the television network TF1 takes place every year in mid-January at Cannes as the opening of MIDEM...
  
  

  Male Francophone Artist of the Year: 2006

Further reading

• Raphaël de A à Z, de Sébastien Bataille (2006)
• Les Chansons de Raphaël en BD, par Marie Terray, d'Oliv' par LuK, Dorotée Piatek, Basile Lhuissier, Gwendal Blondelle et Julien Tixier (2006)
• Raphaël, charme et talent, de Véronique Joyaux (2006)
• Raphaël, une route dans l'univers, de Cyril Anthony, Bartillat (2007)

External links

[raphael.fm/ Official Website] Raphael-Web : site of fans

• Biography of Raphael, from Radio France Internationale
  Radio France Internationale
  Radio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...