Meet Rafi | Artist, Producer, Engineer, & Drummer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rafi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rafi, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Honestly, I’ve loved and felt compelled to make music for as long as I can remember. My parents got me a small drum set for my third birthday because I was always banging on items around the house. I sang and performed around the house and in my hometown constantly. I played in jazz, pop, and rock bands as a kid (both as a singer and drummer). Though I didn’t necessarily know what my career would be then, there was no doubt in my mind I wanted to work in music.

In 2021, I came to LA to study Jazz Drums at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. It felt fitting because my childhood drum teacher attended Thornton! During my first year there, I found so much joy in producing, writing, performing, and singing whenever I got a chance. I set up a little makeshift studio in my dorm and would work there with friends late at night, oftentimes keeping the rest of the hallway up (sorry). Suddenly, all my time spent not playing drums was spent recording and teaching myself how to produce. Flash forward to senior year, and I’m working at Melrose Sound Studios. To make a long story short, I’ve always been obsessed with music, so I never really considered pursuing a career in anything else.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I wanted my first few projects to reflect where I am and be interesting and meaningful. Since moving to Los Angeles, I have made thousands of songs, and after testing out many of them at shows and with friends, I’m looking forward to showing how much I’ve grown. The creative process takes time, which is often pretty frustrating, especially in today’s social media age, where everything seems to happen overnight.

I played most genres growing up but never wrote much. When I moved to LA, I started writing as if there was no tomorrow, relentlessly trying to find my sound, not as a drummer or a singer, but as an artist. I finally feel like it’s all coming together. My music feels like me and reflects where I am in life and the path I’ve been on over the last few years. So, after some pushing from collaborators and friends and a whole year spent at various studios and on my notes app, it’s time to release a lot. I have several singles, and my first solo EP lined up for this year, with more that I’m workshopping. I don’t think it’s ever the perfect time or any creative work is ever fully finished, which has been challenging to come to terms with. Still, now feels like the right time for me to share. This is me. This is my art. What do I have to lose?

My last single – Feeling Bout U – is a bit of a look into the projects I’m releasing this year; fun, energetic, synth, and sample-driven pop music. I have a single coming out with George LaVerne on May 9th, called Temptress (All I Need). It’s fun; it makes me want to dance, and I’m pretty terrible at dancing, so I’m sure it’ll do the same for others. With singles lined up each month this summer and fall until the EP finally drops, it’s gonna be a busy few months for me.

After spending the last few months learning, performing, coding, and obsessing, I’m excited about some additions to my live set. I made these visuals that move in response to the music, which helps me highlight my work as a producer as well as an artist. I’m almost ready to share it over social media and with live crowds. It makes each live performance unique to the night. I performed with these visuals for the first time on April 24th at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music Production Technology Showcase. It was awesome, and I’m so excited to do more events like this.

Aside from my artistic pursuits, I am an engineer at Melrose Sound Studios. It’s a great environment for music creation and collaboration. I’m always at this studio, making music, engineering, helping, or hanging out during sessions. I look forward to continuing to work with others there, engineering and producing for other artists and writers over the next few months.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The first place I take friends to when they visit LA is either a late-night taco truck, Taco Tamix for me, but any truck that’s close to you and decently highly rated on Google works. Or Dansungsa. That place rocks.

For a day adventure, I usually take friends to LACMA or The Huntington. There are a lot of great hikes up in Topanga, but let’s be real—most people visiting LA want to shop, not sweat. So if they’re here for the weekend, I bring them to Melrose Trading Post or Silverlake Flea. My hometown, South Orange, New Jersey, has this tight-knit, artsy-meets-suburban charm, and I think I’m always chasing pieces of that out here. These flea markets remind me of the local events back home where I used to perform, just with more people, more sunshine, and more denim.

A few months ago, I would’ve said to hit one of the beaches on the PCH, but with most of that shut down lately, I’ve been heading to Palos Verdes when friends visit. It’s a great spot to soak up the sun, the weather, and that ocean breeze.

There are so many great places in LA for food and drinks. I’ve been here a while, but I still feel like I’m building my version of the city—one day at a time. I’m excited to keep exploring and growing this itinerary over the next few years.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Huge shoutout to Matt Slocum! Matt was my childhood drum teacher and my mentor from age 6 to 18. He helped shape my love for performing and hugely impacted my musical journey. I also want to shoutout Mark Murphy and Mark Murphy’s Music in South Orange, New Jersey, for being such a great community and space for music education!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rafi.c.m

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rafi-cm

Spotify:

Image Credits
The personal photo was taken by Kirsten Skead