Raphael (born 1948) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

musician and composer of

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

Biography

Raphael F. Sharpe was born in

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

in 1948. Raised by

Benedictine nuns , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

, when his family got ill, he learned

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

. In 1967, he participated at the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. ...

, masquerading as a velvet-caped European count playing

gypsy style The term gypsy style refers to the typical way Eastern European music is played in coffeehouses and restaurants, at parties, and sometimes on-stage, in European cities. Music played in this style and loosely called gypsy music differs from actual ...

violin. He studied piano at the

San Francisco Conservatory The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodg ...

. From there he moved to the

Esalen Institute The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Potential ...

at Big Sur where he worked for ten years as a teacher and musician. There he started pursuing music as a

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

, mixing world rhythms and western music. In 1988 he released 'Music To Disappear In' which sold over 500,000 copies. In 1990, Raphael moved to

Maui, Hawaii The island of Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th largest island in the United S ...

, and married Swiss-born psychotherapist Kutira Decosterd. They founded the Kahua Hawaiian Institute, where they perform musically and teach Oceanic Tantra. In 1992, he founded Kahua Records, the label of his latest works. Raphael's work are all published under his sole first name. Some websites refer to him as Raphael Decosterd (or Décosterd) but it seems to be his Swiss-born wife's last name. The Kahua Institute's website refers to him as Raphael F. Sharpe.http://kahuainstitute.com/kahuainstitute/raphael-kutira
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Discography

As a solo artist

* ''Music to Disappear In'' (1985) –

Hearts of Space Records Hearts of Space Records is a record label owned by Valley Entertainment. The label represents several sublabels, including Hearts of Space, Hearts O'Space, Fathom, RGB, and World Class. History Hearts of Space Records was founded in 1984 as an ...

* ''Music to Disappear In II'' (1991) – Hearts of Space Records * ''Angels of the Deep'' (1994) – Hearts of Space Records * ''Intimacy (Music for Love)'' (1996) – Hearts of Space Records

With Kutira

* ''Never Give Up!'' – Kahua Records * ''Sacred Feminine Voices of Bhutan'' – Kahua Records * ''The Calling'' – Kahua Records * ''Like an Endless River'' – Kahua Records * ''Prayer'' – Kahua Records * ''Oceanic Trantra'' – Kahua Records * ''The Opening'' – Kahua Records

With Wendy Grace

* ''Immaculate Heart'' – Kahua Records

With The Shaman Dancers

* ''The Lovers Within'' – Kahua Records

With Alan Cohen

* ''Journey to the Center of the Heart'' – Kahua Records

External links

Kahua Records

Raphael's Maui Eco Retreat

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raphael 1948 births Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers New-age musicians Ambient musicians 21st-century American male musicians