Raphael Monaghan

Raphael Monaghan is an Italian-American singer-songwriter who first came to fame in 2009 as one third of Schizophonic, an electronic dance project consisting of Raphael and his elder brothers Sylar and Alexei (of Phoenix Rising fame). After the group disbanded, Raphael went on to work with Violetta DiNozzo as part of her production team, the Darling Violetta Project, and as a guitarist in her touring band. In 2013, Raphael began work on his solo debut record "No Michaelangelo", released independently at the end of that year on Raphael's personal imprint, LDV Records. The album charted in the top 2 on the UK albums chart and in the top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 in the United States. Lead single "More Than This" was a surprise #1 smash, beating out chart favourite Elice Bellamy.

Personal History
Raphael Pietro Monaghan was born on September 1st, 1989, to an Italian mother and an American father. He is the youngest of three brothers, and the only one born in America; his elder brothers Sylar and Alexei were born in Venice before their family moved to Odessa, Texas in the United States where Raphael was born. He is the only member of his family that isn't fluent in Italian due to being raised in America. Raphael was always more academically-driven compared to his brothers, excelling in high school so he could pursue further education in law. During this time, he learned guitar, bass and drums as hobbies. Raphael went to law school following his graduation from high school, taking a year off from his studies to participate in Schizophonic. After the group disbanded he returned to his studies, eventually passing his bar exam and beginning work as an intern at a law firm in Texas. He continues to work with Violetta DiNozzo on her music as a side project.

Raphael is openly gay; initially, he tried to keep his sexuality secret from his family afraid of the reaction if word got back to his extended family in Italy (due to the fact that Raphael and his brothers were born into a Sicilian mafia family). He was forced to come out at sixteen after it was discovered, and was surprised at the lack of consequences faced by his coming out. Raphael is currently single; he has only had one serious relationship since his coming out, which inspired a majority of the material featured on his solo album after the relationship ended badly.

Schizophonic
Raphael put his studies on hold in order to join his elder brothers in an electronic music project called Schizophonic in 2008. The project was led by eldest brother Sylar, a DJ and producer who gained popularity in the Pittsburgh club circuit. Raphael's main role within the group was to provide live instrumentation, due to his proficiency in multiple instruments. The album, "The Monaghan Dynasty" was finalized, recorded and mixed in the first two months of 2009, ahead of its release in the UK on March 9th. It hit the top 10 and was certified silver despite a lukewarm reception to the band and critical derision.

As part of Schizophonic, Raphael contributed mainly to the instrumentation but also provided lyrical and vocal duties for the trio, albeit secondary to his brothers. His role within the group was intended to grow, with Alexei juggling both Schizophonic and Phoenix Rising. The group's debut single "Amnesiatic" featured solely Alexei on vocals, but follow-up single "Wreck Of The Day" was partially re-recorded for its single mix to feature Raphael on joint lead vocals with Alexei, and cancelled third release "You Can't Hide" replaced Alexei entirely in a new duet version between Raphael and then-unknown club diva Veronica Nightshade. The two released singles were not overall successes for the trio, but "Wreck Of The Day" did provide them with a top 10 hit before the band parted ways.

Schizophonic participated in the SAVE URAPS charity single "Play The Game", by producing alternate remixes of the single for inclusion on the release. Raphael did not himself provide any guest vocals, but as per Schizophonic's original tracks he provided live instrumentation, particularly on the Retro-Disco remix which featured alternate vocal takes re-arranging the solo parts. This was Schizophonic's last release before the group disbanded, as the planned release for "You Can't Hide" (which was scheduled for after "Play The Game") was scrapped.

Violetta DiNozzo & Uraps Idol: Second Chance
Raphael's very first foray into the music industry, before Schizophonic even released their album, was as a collaborator with Violetta DiNozzo on her debut album "Just Another Girl". The two met in 2008 due to their respective older siblings, and together they worked on two songs for Violetta's debut album; Raphael had a solo writing credit on "Talk Of The Town", and co-wrote the duet "Rip It Up". Neither song was released as a single. Raphael fell back into relative obscurity after Schizophonic split up, but he attempted to audition for Uraps Idol: Second Chance. He wanted to establish his own musical identity separate from his more-famous older brother, but ironically was cultivating the same pop-punk sound Alexei used in his teenage solo career. The audition was unsuccessful.

Following his rejection from Uraps Idol, Raphael reunited with Violetta in 2011 when she began working on her third album. Originally envisioned as a band, Violetta formed the Darling Violetta Project with Raphael and Katrina Benson. It began as just the three of them collaborating on music submitted to Violetta by other writers as a way for Violetta to surrender the lion's share of creative control, with the intention that Violetta would then take the demos recorded with Raphael and Katrina, and then hire an actual band for the album before realizing that her creative synergy with her two collaborators was exactly what she was looking for.

They had intended to release an album together under the Darling Violetta Project name, announcing a double A-side single of "Louder Than Words" (which would still be released as a solo Violetta promo single) and a remixed and re-recorded version of "Rip It Up", the duet from Violetta's debut album. Public favour did not greet the band, so the Darling Violetta Project did not go ahead as a commercial entity. Violetta retained them as her production team however. Raphael plays a great majority of the live instruments on both Violetta's third album eventually released under the title "Divide & Conquer", and her fourth album "The World According To...", although he has no writing credits on either album, and appears only as a backing vocalist on each record. Raphael has been part of Violetta's touring band ever since they began the Darling Violetta Project.

"No Michaelangelo" Era
Raphael suffered a break-up in 2013 from his first real boyfriend, which in turn led him to begin writing his own songs; something he had not done in years since the split of Schizophonic due to his other musical work with Violetta and his own efforts to pursue a career in law. Initially, Raphael had no intention of doing anything with his songs in way of recording, and was going to hold onto them for his personal use, until Violetta convinced him to record his own solo album. Recording for the album began in mid-2013, following the release of Violetta's fourth album, with additional writing sessions occuring at the same time. The album was completed in late 2013, and was self-produced by Raphael with additional co-production by Violetta.

In contrast to his previous work based heavily in electronic music (both with Schizophonic and later with Violetta), Raphael adopted a much blues-ier rock sound with touches of neo-soul and country music for the songs he'd begun writing. Raphael and Violetta collaborated on new material to supplement his own songs for the album, and in a show of solidarity, Raphael's older brother Alexei also contributed to the writing process. The album features guest vocal performances by both Alexei and Violetta. The album, "No Michaelangelo", was announced in December 2013, with a release date of December 30th given for the UK. Raphael released the album independently via his own label imprint, LDV Records. The label name is a play on both his name and album title; both are names of famous Italian painters, as does the label name, which stands for Leonardo da Vinci. The album was made available globally on iTunes from January 2014, making the UK the first territory it was released in. Positive press from the album's UK charting and curiosity helped the album land a top 10 debut upon its US release.

Raphael announced the release of "Were The World Mine" as a digital promo single shortly after the album's announcement, with the song to be released a week after the album. Raphael promoted the promo single and the album in the UK by performing it on the 2013 Christmas Chart Show. A video for "Were The World Mine" was shot in July and was included on the digital package. The single charted in the top 3 on the UK digital chart, and also rocketed up the airplay chart to reach #1. In the US it reached the top 40 on the Hot 100 thanks to a moderately strong first full week of sales and streams of the music video. The song was not released to airplay in the States.

"More Than This" was the proper lead single from the album, and Raphael's debut solo single. It was released on February 3rd in the UK, and impacted US radio on February 4th. The single caused a major upset in the UK when it debuted at #1 ahead of Elice Bellamy. It also peaked at #1 on the UK airplay chart. Weeks after its physical release the single finally managed to chart in the top 20 on the digital chart after it returned from a hiatus. To support the single and the album in the UK, Raphael embarked on an acoustic tour across the country, starting in mid-February and carrying through to the end of the month. In early March, upon wrapping up his tour, he flew to Brazil with boyfriend Paulo Araujo as a guest judge during the judges' houses stage of the third season of The Uraps Factor.

"When He's Gone" is rumoured to be the second full-release single from the album (and third overall) with a release date penciled in for the end of April. The single choice has not yet been confirmed.

Personal Life
Raphael is good friends with long-time collaborator Violetta DiNozzo, and with producer Katrina Benson, to the point where they have each contributed to each other's various musical projects; however despite having released music in the UK, his close ties to Violetta DiNozzo and being the younger brother of a world-famous musician, Raphael has avoided the public eye. What is currently known about his personal life is that he works at a law firm in Texas after successfully passing his bar exam in 2012. Raphael specializes in entertainment law, having pursued that career path after his continued experience within the music industry.

At some point since beginning work at his internship Raphael had his first proper boyfriend, and their break-up in 2013 was the catalyst for Raphael starting to write his solo album. The break-up badly affected Raphael, who was clinically diagnosed with depression and was receiving medication for his condition while seeking psychiatric assistance. Raphael has currently gotten over his depression and is currently living medication-free. As of January 2014, Raphael is romantically involved with Paulo Araujo, after Paulo asked him out on a date via a video message uploaded to Vimeo. Paulo has been candid in interviews about the nature of his relationship with Raphael, having admitted to buying Raphael expensive gifts and declaring on national television that he was in love.

Discography
Main Article: Raphael Monaghan Discography

Albums
With Schizophonic: 2009: "The Monaghan Dynasty" As Solo Artist: 2013: "No Michaelangelo"

Singles
With Schizophonic: 2009: "Amnesiatic" 2009: "Wreck Of The Day" 2009: "You Can't Hide" (Cancelled) As Solo Artist: 2014: "Were The World Mine" 2014: "More Than This" 2014: "When He's Gone"