Rafael Abranches is a Portuguese film score composer, orchestrator, and music producer based in London, UK. Rooted in rigorous classical training, he expertly blends orchestral depth with cutting-edge sound design, world instruments, and modern electronic elements to create immersive scores that elevate narratives and forge emotional connections across diverse media and genres. Rafael's collaborative approach goes beyond music, drawing on a deep understanding of cinema and the scoring process to foster close partnerships with directors, empowering them to realise visionary soundscapes that capture their film’s essence while pushing creative boundaries.

 

His portfolio encompasses major studio productions, TV series, independent films, documentaries, and animations. Notable credits include the original score for RTP1's Otter: The River Guardian, the main theme for RTP2’s Democratas de Braga, and additional scoring for National Geographic titles such as Paradise Islands, WWII Secrets From Above, Shark vs Ross Edgley, Europe From Above: Season 6, When Sharks Attack: Seasons 8 & 9, Lost Beast Unearthed, Maui Shark Mystery. He has also contributed additional music for Science Channel's Unearthed: Season 10 and Curiosity Stream's The Real Wild West.

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From Aveiro, Portugal, Rafael began his musical journey at age seven in a local philharmonic academy. By ten, he was enrolled in the Calouste Gulbenkian Conservatoire, completing an eight-year classical program in music theory, composition, orchestration, performance (piano and euphonium), music history, acoustics, and electronic music. Influenced by classical masters like Richard Strauss, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Gustav Mahler; modern innovators such as Jóhann Jóhannsson, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Vangelis; and film scoring composers including James Horner, John Williams, and Hans Zimmer - whose work fueled his passion for the transformative power of film scores. Driven by his ambition to become a film score composer, Rafael moved to the UK in his late teens to attend Leeds Conservatoire, graduating in 2020 with a First Class Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Music.

 

His career ignited through key collaborations, including additional music for Emmy-winning composers The Luca Brothers on global TV shows, orchestration for Alex Redfern on the documentary No Roses on a Sailor's Grave, and orchestration for Jia Lee on the animation Oryctes (Glow Productions, Epic Games).

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In 2020, Rafael co-founded Engrave Production Music, a global composer collective specialising in premium production music for international media. As Composer Lead, he manages the full production lifecycle, from initial briefs to final delivery, for publishers including BMG Production Music, Universal Production Music, Gargantuan Music, Zone Trailer, Muchas Music, Bleach Music, Dos Brain, Wrong Planet Music, Atom Music, and Absolute Library Music. Their work has been licensed to leading providers and featured in high-profile content like Star Trek: Prodigy (Nickelodeon), Champions League Magazine (UEFA), UFC (ESPN) and thousands more.

 

The following year, he co-founded Pitch Eminence with composer Jia Lee, a cutting-edge music production studio dedicated to contemporary, ambient, and electronic music for film, television, advertising, and installations. Collaborating with industry leaders such as Warner Chappell Production Music, BMG Production Music, Figure and Groove, and Felt Music. Pitch Eminence made its film debut with post-production on Pools Ain't Cool, featuring Jia’s score and Rafael’s sound design, Foley, and audio mixing.

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Rafael thrives on director-led collaborations, transforming scripts into compelling scores - from spotting and composition to production, mixing, mastering, copyrighting, and licensing. With a proven track record alongside networks like National Geographic, he delivers bespoke, high-impact scores tailored to any vision, positioning him as an ideal, reliable partner for ambitious filmmakers worldwide.