Raphael Weinroth-Browne
Canadian cellist redefines the instrument for a progressive landscape, pushing the instrument to its limits.
Canadian cellist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Raphael Weinroth-Browne has built a career proving that the cello belongs every bit as much in progressive rock and experimental music as in a concert hall. With his upcoming solo album, 'Lifeblood', he reflects on the journey that led him here.
“I had an instinct to do things that were different from the norm very early,” Weinroth-Browne recalls. “At the same time, I was listening to heavy music, and prog, and music from the Middle East. I wanted to find my own creative vocabulary on the cello, and a way of expressing my musical preferences which lay mostly outside of classical music.”
Alongside completing a degree in classical music, he was already recording and gigging in his teens. He co-founded Musk Ox 16 years ago, a dark chamber-folk trio, before launching The Visit, a voice-and-cello duo with the intensity of more traditional metal music. With Kamancello, he explored fully-improvised soundscapes with kamanche player Shahriyar Jamshidi.
A chance encounter in 2016 brought him to an even broader audience. Opening for Norwegian proggers Leprous, his set caught the band’s attention. “The way they approached me was surprisingly informal. I literally stepped off stage and they asked if I’d record with them,” he laughs. That moment led to contributions on the Leprous albums 'Malina', 'Pitfalls', and 'Aphelion', as well as almost seven years of touring worldwide.
What unites all these projects is his radical approach to the cello. “I've had to find ways of making the cello sound like different instruments,” he explains. “Whether that's playing more percussively, sounding more like a violin, or sounding more like an electric guitar or synth, maybe it's a classical sound or a film score, or something more fiddle-like. You really can make it do anything.” That versatility fuels his progressive edge.
He began carving out a solo identity with covers of Opeth and Steven Wilson, before releasing 2020's 'Worlds Within', a continuous 40-minute journey for layered and looped cello. “After Covid, my solo project really became my main thing,” he says. 'Lifeblood' is compiled from a decade's worth of material, and Weinroth-Browne says it's likely to appeal to a broad audience. "If you're listening from a prog or metal standpoint, then this is a really accessible record for you," he comments, "It's a lot of long tunes with different sections, a cinematic journey, every song is a multi-movement piece but it's very layered. It's lush, full-sounding, with a lot of rhythmic designs happening. There's a lot of complexity and a lot of riffs, but a melodic thread runs throughout."
'Ophidian' nods to early-2000s influences which he describes as “nu metal and black metal filtered through cello,” while other tracks lean toward atmospheric soundscapes. “I want listeners to feel like they’ve gone on a journey and come out a little different," he explains.
As for the future, he dreams of collaborating with artists like Tigran Hamasyan or Anoushka Shankar. “I’d love to be in that space where prog, jazz and Middle Eastern music meet. That’s where I thrive.” For now, though, 'Lifeblood' will be his most defining release. “It embodies everything I’ve done up to this point, it's my most articulate statement yet.”
Cheri Faulkner
Prog File
LINE-UP: Raphael Weinroth-Browne (Cello)
SOUNDS LIKE: Everything you never knew a cello could sound like, with an overly nostalgic tinge.
CURRENT RELEASE: //Lifeblood// is out October 3, 2025.
WEBSITE: https://raphaelweinrothbrowne.com