Rafiq Bhatia (born 21 August 1987) is an American musician, composer, guitarist, and producer. He is the guitarist and fellow producer of the American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band

Son Lux Son Lux is an American experimental band. Originally the solo project and moniker of founding member Ryan Lott, the band's first three albums, '' At War with Walls & Mazes'', ''We Are Rising'' and ''Lanterns'', shaped the band's unique sound th ...

, having been a touring member prior. As a solo artist, he has recorded three solo albums ''Yes it Will'' (2012), ''Strata'' (2012), and ''Breaking English'' (2018). Bhatia has also worked with musicians

Olga Bell Olga Bell (born Olga Balashova, russian: Ольга Балашова, 3 October 1983) is an American musician, music producer, composer, and singer-songwriter. She was born in Moscow, Russia, raised in Anchorage, Alaska and is currently based in ...

Sam Dew Sam Dew is an American singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for writing the hook to the track "LoveHate Thing," a single from Wale's 2013 album '' The Gifted''. Dew is also credited for writing and performing on additional ...

, Dave Douglas,

Marcus Gilmore Marcus Gilmore (born October 10, 1986) is an American drummer. In 2009, ''New York Times'' critic Ben Ratliff included Gilmore in his list of drummers who are "finding new ways to look at the drum set, and at jazz itself", saying, "he created th ...

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others. Bi ...

Heems Himanshu Kumar Suri (born July 6, 1985), better known by his stage name Heems, is an American rapping, rapper from Queens in New York City. Best known for being part of the alternative hip hop group Das Racist, Suri is also the founder of Greedh ...

Helado Negro Roberto Carlos Lange (born 1980), better known by his stage name Helado Negro, is an American musician. In 2019 he was awarded a United States Artists Fellow in Music and also the recipient of a 2019 Grants to Artists award in Music from the Fou ...

Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (born October 26, 1971) is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, histori ...

Glenn Kotche Glenn Kotche (born December 31, 1970 in Roselle, Illinois, United States) is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 40th greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008. Prior to w ...

Valgeir Sigurðsson Valgeir Sigurðsson (born 18 June 1971) is an Icelandic record producer, mixer, composer, audio engineer and musician. Biography Coming from a musical background, Valgeir's fascination with recording technology led to a job in a small recor ...

Moses Sumney Moses Sumney is a Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter. His self-recorded EP, ''Mid-City Island'', was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled ''Lamentations''. His first full-length album, ''Aromanticism'', was released ...

, and

David Virelles David Virelles (born 1983) is a Cuban jazz pianist and composer. Early life Virelles was born in Cuba in 1983Jurek, Tho"Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2015. and grew up in Santiago. His father is José Aquiles, a singer-songwr ...

Career

A first-generation American of East African Indian descent, Bhatia was born in

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...

and grew up in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. His interest in music began with two inspirations: his grandfather’s reedy, a capella renditions of

Ginans Ginans ( ur, گنان, gu, ગિનાન; derived from sa, ज्ञान ''jñana,'' meaning "knowledge") are devotional hymns or poems recited by Shia Ismaili Muslims. Literally meaning gnosis, ginans are the devotional literature of the ...

, and listening to

gangster rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...

on the radio. He began playing guitar in high school. After graduating from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

with a degree in neuroscience and economics, in 2010 Bhatia moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, where he has remained. The composer-guitarist's first two albums, ''Strata'' and ''Yes It Will'', were described as "transcending real sound in real time with the unexpected," and as "approximating life in the information age … profuse, immersive and immense." In 2014, Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang became members of

, expanding the former solo project of

Ryan Lott Ryan Lott (born 1979) is an American musician. He founded the band Son Lux which has released five albums and four EPs. The band's most recent album ''Brighter Wounds'' appeared in February 2018, the preceding album ''Remedy'' appeared in May 20 ...

into a trio. They have since been heralded as "the world's most lethal band", and described as "thrilling... an ideal synthesis of contemporary forms". In the past few years, Son Lux has written, recorded, and released the album ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'' and its companion EP ''Stranger Forms'' and have given over 300 performances in North America, Europe, and Asia. Bhatia has recorded with

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and i ...

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

, and

, and on the soundtracks to the films ''

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby ''The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby'' is the collective title of three films written and directed by Ned Benson in his directorial debut, and starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, alongside a supporting cast of Viola Davis, Bill Hader, Kathe ...

'', ''

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

'', and '' Afflicted''. He has also recorded with members of the chamber ensembles

International Contemporary Ensemble The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is a contemporary classical music ensemble, based in New York City and Chicago. ICE performs a diverse and extensive array of chamber, electro-acoustic, improvisatory, and multimedia works. History ...

JACK Quartet The JACK Quartet is an American string quartet dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. It was founded in 2005 and is based in New York City. The four founding members are violinists Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfeld, viol ...

, and

Alarm Will Sound Alarm Will Sound is a 20-member chamber orchestra that focuses on recordings and performances of contemporary classical music. Its performances have been described as "equal parts exuberance, nonchalance, and virtuosity" by the ''Financial Times' ...

Discography

As Rafiq Bhatia

* ''Strata EP'' (2012) — digital * ''Yes It Will'' (2012) — 12" vinyl, CD, digital * ''Breaking English'' (2018) — 12" vinyl, CD, digital

With Son Lux

* ''

Lanterns A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

'' (2013) — 12" vinyl, CD, digital — Joyful Noise * ''Alternate Worlds'' (2013) — 12" vinyl, digital — Joyful Noise * ''

'' (2015) — 12" vinyl, CD, digital — Glassnote * ''Stranger Forms'' (2016) — digital — Glassnote * '' Brighter Wounds'' (2018) — digital —

City Slang City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. History The label was founded in 1990 by former tour agent Christof Ellinghaus, exclusively to release The Flaming Lips' '' In A Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine S ...

With other artists

* ''

Sisyphus In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ancient Corinth, Ephyra (now known as Corinth). Hades punished him for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense bo ...

'' (2013) — 2x12" vinyl, digital — Joyful Noise/

Asthmatic Kitty Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...

* ''Tecla, We Are The Lucky Ones'' (2013) — CD, digital — Mayimba Music/

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

* ''

, Eat Pray Thug'' (2015) — 12" vinyl, CD, digital —

Megaforce ''Megaforce'' (or ''MegaForce'') is a 1982 action film directed by former stuntman Hal Needham and written by James Whittaker, Albert S. Ruddy, Hal Needham and André Morgan based on a story by Robert S. Kachler. The film starred Barry Bostwi ...

* ''

, Antenna'' (2016) — 7" vinyl, digital — ECM

Soundtracks

* Son Lux, ''Original Music From and Inspired By: The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2014) — digital — Glassnote * Edo Van Breemen – ''AIR (Original Motion Picture Score)'' (2015) — LP, CD, digital —

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatia, Rafiq 1987 births Living people 21st-century American guitarists American people of Indian descent