Rafart is the Electronic Rock project of Chapman Stick performer Francisco Rafart. Support my music at:
Venmo: @Francisco-Rafart
Bandcamp: https://rafart.bandcamp.com/

RAFART project

Rafart is my Electronic Prog-Rock solo project, where I combine Prog-Rock and EDM sounds to create a unique musical style. In this project, the Chapman Stick, my voice, and an array of synths and controllers are my tools of expression. The project has taken different formats such as trio, duo, and solo performance, and it incorporates different session musicians that always bring unique sounds and styles.

The Rafart project is a fluid concept rooted in prog-rock and EDM. As such, instrumentations and styles change regularly. The only element of continuity in this project is the Chapman Stick and me.

About Francisco Rafart

My musical beginnings were as a metal guitarist and a contemporary classical composer, writing ensemble, solo and orchestral pieces that won awards and were performed in Chile and Argentina. During my composition studies, I picked up the Chapman Stick in late 2005. From there, I started a Space Rock band named Space Oregano with my long-time collaborator Pato Nuño. This exploration into Space rock, Prog, and EDM, was the pillar of what the Rafart project would later become.

In 2012, with the help of several session musicians and producers I made my first two albums in a trio format (drums, guitar, stick): ¨The Handbook of the Acid Rider (Mylodon Records, 2013)¨ and ¨The Dark Night of the Soul (Independent, 2014)¨. The Handbook has a few of the songs made by Pato Nuño and me during the Space Oregano years. Though both these are prog-rock albums, I took a lot of elements from electronic styles.

The Berklee experience

During 2014-15, I attended the Music Technology Innovation Master at Berklee College of Music, to learn to produce music myself. Here I incorporated electronic music in a much more straight forward way. The EP Get in The Grid (2014) was my first venture into a fully Electronic Rock format, with the Stick still as the main instrument. At Berklee I had the chance to have a trio band to perform my songs with guitarist Felipe Saalfed and drummer/film composer Bernardo Castro. The last Rafart band performance was in Valencia, Spain on July 2015.

My life in the US

After graduating from Berklee in Valencia, Spain, I moved to the United States to continue my musical development and deepen my understanding of Music Technology. Here, I worked with the MIDI controller manufacturer company Livid Instruments in Austin TX. Shortly after I moved to Boston, MA.

After a silence of several years, I'm released my fourth EP "Dasein" in an Electronic Prog-Rock style. It preserves the instrumental approach from my previous musical stages but incorporates songs, lyrics, and the collaboration of Pat Nuño and Felipe Saalfeld as session musicians.

During 2020-2021 I worked on an audiovisual live performance called "The Great Refusal", a project that was funded by a Live Arts Boston grant by the Boston Foundation. This project opened the door for me to explore the use of machines, projection mapping along my instrument and voice in a live setup.

Currently (2022) I'm working on recording and producing the songs of the Great Refusal and on a new live performance set.

Performances

I have played and composed music for different events, festivals and conferences. These include Volumens 2014 (Valencia, Spain), Calakmul fest 2015 (Campeche, Mexico), MIT's EmTech 2014 (Valencia, Spain) , TEDx Berklee Valencia and the Ist and II International Stick Encounters 2006/7 (Santiago, Chile). I have collaborated with several musicians of different styles such as guitarists Benjamin Lechuga (Delta) and Fernando Daza (Octopus), drummer Pablo Martinez (All tomorrows), ecuadorian bagpipper Nico Schipper, house DJ kTunes, trance DJ The Source and singers Aman Wahdwa and Ramya Sivaramakrishnan.

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