Wakhevitch was a musical prodigy as a child, and studied piano under French composer Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire de Paris and classical pianist Marguerite Long.
[1][2] His compositions are heavily influenced by avant-garde music including Igor Stravinsky and psychedelic rock bands such as Soft Machine and Pink Floyd.
[2] In 1974, he composed the music for Salvador Dali's opera-poem Etre Dieu (To Be God), which included a libretto by Spanish writer Manuel Vazquez Montalban.
[3] Wakhévitch is one of the musicians named on the Nurse with Wound list of outsider and avant-garde music, which has come to be an important touchstone for those interested in the genre.
His composition "Materia-Prima" is included on the compilation album Strain Crack & Break: Music from the Nurse With Wound List.