Born to a musical family, Raphael Olivier discovers the artistic world at age 3, falling in love with the cello. He soon begins performing concerts with European classical ensembles by age 8, in countries such as Italy (Torino Classical Music Festival), England (Trinity College of London), and France (Lyon Symphony Hall, Massy Symphony Hall, amongst others.)
In 2012, he moves to the United States to pursue his musical dream. While attending the Lycée Français de Chicago, he records with multiple bands, and performs in such venues as the Chicago Symphony Center, Lincoln Hall, Jazz Showcase, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
In 2018, after enrolling in the prestigious Paris National Superior Conservatory to study jazz and film scoring, Raphael writes his first scores (Cartier, Jimmy Choo, BBC) and launches his solo electro project AVBE, which cumulates over 3 million streams independently, and is featured in Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist, amongst others. During that time, he records at the mythical Studios Davout, goes on a two year European tour (Paris Philharmonic, Brussels Botanique, Gaité Lyrique, Lyon Nuits de Fourvière), and performs alongside the likes of Etienne Daho, Yael Naim, Calypso Valois, and the National Jazz Orchestra.
In 2020, Raphael relocates to Chicago to reconnect with his midwestern inspirations, and works on a wide variety of music, ranging from collaborating with Jean Michel Jarre and Martin Gore (Depeche Mode), to composing for TV and movies, and performing as an independent artist and DJ in venues across the US and Europe.
2025 sees Raphael’ debut album “note from the middle west” be released; a project at the crossroads of folk, indie, electro and jazz, inspired by the stories of the American Midwest.
He’s currently living in Los Angeles, working on new compositions and a debut novel.
