Darius Justin Rafat (born 13 December 1977) is a Canadian
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
,
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
,
bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...
, music agent and
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
. He is the founder and CEO of the music agency and production firm
Fat Music London.
Early life
Rafat was born 13 December 1977 to
Judy Rafat a Canadian
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
singer and Prof. Dr. Godrat (Nodi) Rafat, a Persian scientist and geology professor. In early childhood he played the piano and drums, and started composing his first pieces. He co-produced his mother's album ''Con Alma'' in New York in 1997 which featured legendary jazz musicians Paquito D'Riviera,
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era.
Biography
Born in Philadel ...
,
Rufus Reid
Rufus Reid (born February 10, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer.
Biography
Reid was raised in Sacramento, California, where he played the trumpet through junior high and high school. Upon graduation ...
,
Claudio Roditi
Claudio Roditi (May 28, 1946 – January 17, 2020) was a Brazilian jazz trumpeter. In 1966 Claudio was named a trumpet finalist at the International Jazz Competition in Vienna, Austria.
While in Vienna, Roditi met Art Farmer, one of his idols, ...
,
Frank Wess
Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic ...
and
Ignacio Berroa
Ignacio Berroa (born July 8, 1953 in Havana, Cuba) is a jazz drummer.
In 1980 Ignacio left his country during the Mariel Boatlift, moved to New York and joined Dizzy Gillespie’s quartet in 1981, becoming the drummer of all the important band G ...
.
Career
At the age of twenty, he signed with
Polygram Music Publishing in Hamburg, Germany. In 2001 he composed and produced the title theme for the German Saturday evening show
Verstehen Sie Spaß?
Timm Franz Maria Elstner (born 19 April 1942), known as Frank Elstner, is a German television presenter.
Early life
Elstner went to school in Rastatt in Germany and gained his first experience in broadcasting as a child when he acted in radio ...
hosted by
Frank Elstner
Timm Franz Maria Elstner (born 19 April 1942), known as Frank Elstner, is a German television presenter.
Early life
Elstner went to school in Rastatt in Germany and gained his first experience in broadcasting as a child when he acted in radio ...
, which made him become the youngest composer for a Saturday night show in German television, age 23. Shortly after, he composed and created the
gospel song
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
"Hope", which became the official title song for the
Sat.1
Sat.1 is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group.
It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesellschaf ...
Aids Gala. He later performed this piece live on stage with artists
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-eart ...
,
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
,
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk.
Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...
, and
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
. His music and productions are used in feature films, TV shows, commercials and
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
campaigns around the world.
Rafat coordinates international projects with partner studios in London and
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
/
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. With his
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
,
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
band "
Darius Rafat & Friends", he is frequently booked for corporate and brand events throughout Europe.
Due to his longtime experience and extended contacts to artists, film and TV productions, networks, publishers, labels and agencies he often works with a varied clientele for
product placement
Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...
, brand entertainment, brand communication and sponsorships. With offices in London, Los Angeles and Berlin his music agency Fat Music London connects the music industry with the world of advertising, film and TV and is frequently working with A-list celebrities and chart-topping musicians for international artist / brand partnerships. Fat Music London is a division of RTA (The Rafat & Thomas Agency).
As a TV Host, Darius Rafat is well known for his work on
The Dome,
Apres Ski Hits,
Ballermann Hits,
Die ultimate Clipshow, and the popular daily kids program
Pokito TV on
RTL II
RTL Zwei (stylised as RTLZWEI), formerly spelled RTL 2 and RTL II, is a German-language television channel that is operated by ''RTL2 Television GmbH & Co. KG''. RTL2 is a private television broadcaster with a full program ''(Vollprogramm)'' ...
in Germany.
References
External links
*
List of film composers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafat, Darius
Canadian record producers
1977 births
Living people
Canadian composers
Canadian male composers