Quick Facts
Biography
Rafael Arcaute, known as Rafa Arcaute, is an Argentine songwriter, record producer and recording engineer. He has worked with several Latin American artists including Luis Alberto Spinetta, Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas, Calle 13, Aterciopelados, Diego Torres, Babasónicos and Andrés Calamaro. He has received eleven Latin Grammy Awards, including two wins for Producer of the Year in 2011 and 2016, he has also won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album as a producer for Calle 13's Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Career
Arcaute studied at the Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini in Buenos Aires, Argentina and later studied a Degree in Electroacoustic Composition at the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes.
He began working at 23 years old as a touring member of Luis Alberto Spinetta's band Spinetta and as keyboardist and engineer for several of Spinetta's albums including Argentina Sorgo Films Presenta: Spinetta Obras (2002), Para los Árboles (2003) and Camalotus (2004). He then worked in the production of two albums by Puerto Rican band Calle 13, Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo (2008) and Entren Los Que Quieran (2010).
Arcaute produced two albums by Argentine singer Diego Torres, Distinto (2010) and Buena Vida (2015). In 2011, he worked in Babasónicos's tenth album A Propósito. In 2016, he served as manager for Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas's tour L.H.O.N. Tour after working in the production of their 2012 album Chances, he also produced Colombian band Aterciopelados's first live album Reluciente, Rechinante y Aterciopelado the same year.
Since 2018, he resides in Miami, United States and works as a part of Sony Music alongside Afo Verde. After working in some of her previous singles, Arcaute produced Argentine singer Nathy Peluso's debut album Calambre, released in 2020, he also worked in Spanish singer C. Tangana's El Madrileño, which was released in 2021.
Discography
| Year | Title | Artist | Production | Writing & Arrangements | Instruments | Technical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Argentina Sorgo Films Presenta: Spinetta Obras (A) | Luis Alberto Spinetta |  Y | |||
| 2003 | Para los Árboles (A) | Y | Y | Y | ||
| 2004 | Camalotus (A) | Y | ||||
| Onyx (A) | Javier Malosetti | Y | Y | |||
| 2006 | "Rompéme" (S) | Emme | Y | |||
| Pan (A) | Luis Alberto Spinetta | Y | ||||
| 2007 | Mordisco (A) | Emmanuel Horvilleur | Y | |||
| 2008 | Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo (A) | Calle 13 | Y | Y | ||
| 2009 | C'est comme ça (A) | Florent Pagny | Y | |||
| 2010 | Distinto (A) | Diego Torres | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| On the Rock (A) | Andrés Calamaro | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Entren Los Que Quieran (A) | Calle 13 | Y | Y | |||
| 2011 | Pecados y Milagros (A) | Lila Downs | Y | |||
| 2012 | Chances (A) | Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas | Y | Y | ||
| 2013 | Aliados (A) | Aliados | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| 2014 | Verte Nacer (A) | Noel Schajris | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| 2015 | Buena Vida (A) | Diego Torres | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| 2016 | Reluciente, Rechinante y Aterciopelado | Aterciopelados | Y | |||
| 2017 | "La Cátedra" (S) | Residente | Y | |||
| 2018 | Ahora o Nunca (A) | La Pegatina | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| 2019 | "Copa Glasé" (S) | Nathy Peluso | Y | Y | ||
| Xavier (A) | Emmanuel Horvilleur | Y | ||||
| "Tutu (Remix)" | Camilo, Pedro Capó and Shakira | Y | ||||
| 2020 | Lo que me dé la Gana (A) | Dani Martín | Y | Y | Y | |
| "Los Huesos" (S) | Y | Y | ||||
| "La Mentira" (S) | Y | |||||
| "Business Woman" (S) | Nathy Peluso | Y | ||||
| Libra (A) | Lali | Y | Y | |||
| Cumbiana (A) | Carlos Vives | Y | ||||
| "Favorito" (S) | Camilo | Y | ||||
| Por Primera Vez | Y | Y | ||||
| 2021 | El Madrileño (A) | C. Tangana | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Calambre | Nathy Peluso | Y | Y | |||
| "Canción Bonita" (S) | Carlos Vives and Ricky Martin | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| "La Fuerza" (A) | Christina Aguilera | Y | Y | Y | Y |
(A) Album, (S), Single
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Artist | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album | Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo | Calle 13 | Won |
Gardel Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Artist | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Record of the Year | "Best Seller" | Juan Ingaramo | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Producer of the Year | Calambre | Nathy Peluso | Nominated |
Latin Grammy Awards
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Artist | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Album of the Year | Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo | Calle 13 | Won | |
| Best Urban Music Album | Won | ||||
| 2010 | Best Engineered Album | Distinto | Diego Torres | Won | |
| Producer of the Year | Rafael Arcaute and Diego Torres | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | Album of the Year | Entren Los Que Quieran | Calle 13 | Won | |
| Best Urban Music Album | Won | ||||
| Song of the Year | "Latinoamérica" | Won | |||
| Record of the Year | Won | ||||
| Best Alternative Song | "Calma Pueblo" | Won | |||
| Best Urban Song | "El Baile de los Pobres" | Won | |||
| Producer of the Year | Rafael Arcaute & Calle 13 | Won | |||
| 2013 | Rafael Arcaute | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | Nominated | ||||
| 2016 | Album of the Year | Buena Vida | Diego Torres | Nominated | |
| Record of the Year | "Iguales" | Nominated | |||
| Producer of the Year | Rafael Arcaute | Won | |||
| 2017 | Record of the Year | "Guerra" | Residente | Nominated | |
| Album of the Year | Residente | Nominated | |||
| Best Urban Music Album | Won | ||||
| Best Urban Song | "Somos Anormales" | Won | |||
| Best Alternative Song | "Apocaliptico" | Nominated | |||
| 2018 | Producer of the Year | Rafael Arcaute | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | Record of the Year | "Querer Mejor" | Juanes and Alessia Cara | Nominated | |
| Song of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2020 | Best Alternative Song | "BUENOS AIRES" | Nathy Peluso | Nominated | |
| Producer of the Year | Rafael Arcaute | Nominated | |||
| 2021 | Song of the Year | "Canción Bonita" | Carlos Vives and Ricky Martin | Nominated | |
| Best Pop Song | Nominated | ||||
| Record of the Year | "Te Olvidaste" | C. Tangana & Omar Apollo | Nominated | ||
| Best Alternative Song | Nominated | ||||
| "AGARRATE" | Nathy Peluso | Nominated | |||
| Best Rap/Hip Hop Song | "SANA SANA" | Nominated | |||
| Best Alternative Music Album | Calambre | Won | |||
| Best Engineered Album | El Madrileño | C. Tangana | Won | ||
| 2022 | Record of the Year | "Pa Mis Muchachas" | Christina Aguilera, Nicki Nicole, Becky G & Nathy Peluso | Nominated | |
| Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album | Aguilera | Christina Aguilera | Won | ||
| Album of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Tinta y Tiempo | Jorge Drexler | Nominated | |||
| Best Alternative Song | "El Día Que Estrenaste el Mundo" | Won | |||
| Best Regional Mexican Song | "Cuando Me Dé la Gana" | Christina Aguilera & Christian Nodal | Nominated | ||
| 2023 | Record of the Year | "No Es Que Te Extrañe" (as producer) | Christina Aguilera | Pending | |