WATCH / SHARE “CONTOURS OF SPRING” HERE
BUY / STREAM “CONTOURS OF SPRING” HERE
PERFORMING AT OSHEAGA JULY 30
“Rare it is to find a writer who speaks so candidly about something that is far from straightforward. It’s deep, it’s provocative, and most importantly, it sounds gorgeous.” Indie Shuffle
“shows the Dubai-born, Montreal-based indie folk songwriter in a delicate light, mixing familiar acoustic melancholy with Eastern-style scales. The music video matches both the spiraling instrumentation of the song and Raphael’s lyrical vision, showing him navigating between two different worlds.” COMPLEX
"Raphael's languid instrumentals are all too easy to melt into." - Exclaim!
"Raphael indulges by opening up that affecting guitar-vocal pairing to a lush bridge with added horn, guitar and drums." - CBC Music
"Tranquil melodies flow over electronic and acoustic instrumentation." - American Songwriter
Photo Credit : Meliss Desmond // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Recently, Dubai-born, Montreal-based songwriter Edwin Raphael shared “Have You Been Told”, his first single and video of 2022. Today, he returns with “Contours Of Spring”, a track that has its origins with the phrase “to accept spring means accepting the risk of winter”, says Raphael. “Without absence there can be no presence. The simple sad rhythm emphasizes that the steps backwards in life may be sad, but it is part of the dance, and it is always beautiful.
‘Contours Of Spring’ flirts with the cyclical nature of self realization. Life is not linear, we repeat the same lessons over and over again, unlearning and relearning, to arrive at deeper levels of understanding with each rotation.”
WATCH / SHARE “CONTOURS OF SPRING” HERE
BUY / STREAM “CONTOURS OF SPRING” HERE
“Contours Of Spring” Single Artwork // Credit: Vijay Sarathy // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
MORE ABOUT EDWIN RAPHAEL
How do you anchor yourself when occupying multiple geographic identities at once? For Edwin Raphael, it requires an intentional and intensive form of world-building. By developing an unmistakable style of folk that merges Eastern scales with the Western pop canon, Raphael reimagines his music as a exploratory tool that allows him to construct an interior and sacred home to retreat into.
WATCH / SHARE “HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD” HERE
BUY / STREAM “HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD” HERE
Growing up in Dubai, as the son of parents who immigrated from the city of Cochin in India’s coastal Kerala state, Raphael studied classical guitar before deciding on the keys. As he developed an affinity for John Mayer and Ben Howard, he felt at odds with Dubai’s distinct sense of “placelessness” — and the bewildering feeling of being immersed in a culture where everyone claimed an alternate homeland. It wasn’t until he moved to Montreal to pursue a business degree that he felt a sense of stability, and became deeply entangled with the city’s indie bedroom pop scene.
His debut EP Ocean’s Walk (2015) paired stirring, melancholic instrumentals with a fierce self-reckoning. It would set the stage for a string of releases that would dive deeper into the psyche; like confronting the aftershocks following a significant heartbreak, or relearning your emotional baseline as you mature. Subsequent releases, Cold Nights (2017), his acclaimed debut Will You Think of Me Later? (2019), and its follow up Staring at Ceilings (2021), reveal an artist devoted to sharpening his ability to translate his experiences into ubiquitous statements, and saw him open for Hollow Coves, JP Saxe, Noah Kahan.
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BUY / STREAM STARING AT CEILINGS EP HERE
WATCH EDWIN RAPHAEL PERFORM LIVE ON CBC MUSIC’S ‘THE INTRO’ HERE
MORE PRAISE FOR STARING AT CEILINGS
“'Sea of Things' feels primal, mimicking the ocean with cyclical, crashing movements, patiently building itself up and washing itself back out." - FLAUNT
"Calming ambience and angelic vocals." - Lyrical Lemonade
"Chill pop with a touch of folk." - EARMILK
"Weightless and ethereal" - Indie Shuffle
"The instrumental and harmonic components provide the same floating-in-space feeling we love from Fleet Foxes." - Culture Collide
"Offers an escape from anxiety." - Kajal
"Incredibly raw and emotional." - C-Heads
"A gently addictive soundscape, all wistful energy and patient." - Beats Per Minute
"Notes of Bon Iver and Frank Ocean come to a glorious head to create something moving, exciting and fresh." - The Rodeo