Ornatos Violeta were a Portuguese alternative rock group whose music included some other influences, such as funk, jazz and ska. The band was formed in the city of Porto.
The band split up in 2002. Pluto followed, a more traditional rock group, with Manel Cruz (vocals + rhythm guitar) and Peixe (lead guitar).
EQUALEFT are a groove metal band from Porto/Gaia ,(Portugal) that were born in 2004 from the ashes of some local metal bands.
Despite some line up changes in the first 4 years, since the release of their first demo in 2008 that Equaleft haven´t stop playing live.
Playing in Festivals like SWR Barroselas Metalfesft,Hardmetalfest Moita Metalfest, Vimaranes Metalium Fest, and sharing stage with bands like Web, Holocausto Canibal, Heavenwood, The Haunted, Dew Scented, Grog, Dagoba,Pitch Black.
Their sound is equal to metal combined with a massive dose of groove, power and some melody.
In his uninterrupted voyage around guitar poetics, Portuguese player Norberto Lobo has been on expeditions with several of the great names who keep on walking the Earth. Just recently, he played with Rhys Chatham’s ‘Guitar Trio’ in Lisbon; around the city’s stages he started a creative relationship with the inimitable Portuguese voice, Lula Pena; and jammed with guitar greats from across the spectrum: Stephen Basho-Junghans and Gary Lucas, Captain Beefheart’s wing man. On two occasions he shared the stage with friend Devendra Banhart.
On an eternally nomadic condition Norberto has played in Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, England, USA, Canada (where he opened, at her request, for Lhasa) and the Netherlands (where he played with renowned cellist Ernst Reijseger).
Someone once said we play classical guitar to prove ourselves before our fathers. As a demonstration of honor, dignity and self-sufficiency towards the one who gave us both name and manhood. But Norberto once said that what he really enjoyed was melody – that he, in fact, craved for it. Gazing upon the expression of those who have just seen Norberto on stage – or heard one of his records – it’s plain to see he has an ability to guide listeners to seldom visited inner landscapes.
Playing solo guitar is a public test of dexterity, creativity and heart – an attempt to bring together ideas and emotions that will summon a whole universe into existence. Norberto, between those six and twelve strings that wood can hardly contain, is able to unfold himself into multiple voices that rally together as quickly as they challenge each other.
He has tapped into a series of traditions and harnessed them into his own vision. Primitive music filtered through modern day free traditions: evoking the distinctive Portuguese playing of Carlos Paredes meditating on Lisbon and the Tagus river; echoing Paulinho da Viola’s trademark delicate choros and sambas, and revealing a love affair with Brazilian music; remembering Fahey and Charley Patton, by calling on the blues as a primordial filter of ache; all of it coupled with an honest-to-goodness appreciation and empathy with what it means to be a professional musician.
Norberto is slowly weaving his own stories, mining for forgotten emotions and mending long lost spiritualities. His is the sound of someone blissfully living in the modern Lisbon, which is also an old Lisbon; a celebration of the city in all its contradictions. His is the ability of someone who can make everyone around him feel special in the sharing of his gift.
Portuguese is not an easy language to export, but Uaninauei (try saying “one in a way”) with its blend of different rock genres has a sound that is vast enough to capture the listener’s attention with their smart musical shifts and crazy riffs fired with melodic and raw vocals. This is not metal, it’s not stoner, hard rock or alternative rock either, it’s a very classy and catchy mixture of all of them, with a slight taste of progressive rock that embellishes its craziness. “Lume de Chão” is a major debut release from a band that comes out of nowhere with something that we haven’t heard before. So welcome to the Uaninauei universe.
The Glockenwise are a portuguese garage-rock band. They're an young rock quartet with a lot of explosions. From the acne skin, which leads to the school of punk and garage - rock as manifest in adolescence. Between the Ramones and Pistols or The Vicious Five and Green Machine, in the rock'n'roll spectrum, where the attitude of a frontman is strength.
May of 2010 goes down in history by the joining of Peter Tatanka , Ciro Cruz and Miguel Casais as a band ."The Black Mamba", a name that baptizes the trio and the debut album, was the inspiration found so that together they could taste their own poison. The chemistry and experience of these great musicians, recognized ambassadors ok well-known projects in their countries of origin, Portugal (Aurea, Richie Campbell) and Brazil (Ed Motta, Gabriel O Pensador, Banda Black Rio), allowed them to travel the universe of blues, soul and funk, in an adaptation to their natural habitat.
The hibernation period devoted to rehearsing, writing, recording and producing their first work takes exactly two years until the snake builds its identity. May 2012 officially marks the presentation of "The Black Mamba" with an advance single absolutely lethal, "It Ain't You". The Portuguese public was unanimous and immediate in recognizing and supporting this work: 1st place in iTunes sales, first edition sold out in record stores, radio airplay, and presence at various venues and festivals throughout the country, highlights that in Portugal represent a victory in itself.
The truth is that in record time they find their place and instinctively go for internationalization. In just over a year they go on their debut tour, playing in London, Philadelphia, Luanda, Madrid, Seville, and ending 2013 on a high note in a concert in Brazil. The crowds at the 13th Rock In Rio (Rio de Janeiro) and the Bourbon Street Music Club (São Paulo) are witnesses that in line with the media, "The Black Mamba" project is received with open arms.
2014 kicks off in the studio with the aim of completing the second studio album, produced in Lisbon, their hometown , and New York, more specifically in "The Lab Studio" in Brooklyn, under guidance of sound engineer Scott Anderson. Meanwhile, "I'll meet you there", the third single from their first work, is revealed as one of the biggest tunes in Portuguese radios, which together with "It Ain't You", ends 2013 on iTunes Top 100 in the country, in 72nd and 73rd positions.
Monolyth are a progressive death metal/groove band from Aveiro, Portugal, with many influences such as Lamb of God, Meshuggah, Opeth, Gojira, Machine Head, Tool, Karnivool, Devin Townsend, between many others.
The band was formed by the solo guitar Tiago and the drummer Victor , then the search for a voice was ended as MP (Marcelo) entered the band, followed by the bassist Pedro (that leaved the band in December 2011) and the rhythm guitar Gonçalo. In February 2012, João joins the band playing bass and leaves the band in June 2013. David Alves is the new bass player (joins the band in July 2013).
Now they are recording their first album, that will be released soon.
João Vieira's career as a dj started 15 years ago in East London, promoting club kitten (weekly) for 3 years with a couple of dj friends. Back to his hometown (Porto, Portugal) in 2001, his career took off as a dj, selling out 2000 people capacity venues in Porto, and revolutionizing the club night by mixing punk records with disco, suicide, add n to x and 80's electro. In less than 3 years he played all the major festivals, which led to a 5 year residence at Lux club in Lisbon. João has shared the dj booth with names like 2 many djs, Boys noize, Sebastian, Felix da housecat, Rory Phillips and others. In the past 10 years he released 4 albums with his band x-wife, where he sings, plays guitar and co-writes all the music. His band was praised by James Murphy from lcd soundsystem.
In 2013 he releases the "White Haus ep" :his first work as a music producer, writing, performing and producing all the music (he even used his skills as a graphic designer to do all the artwork)."White haus" is a mix of genres, heavily influenced by the New York leftfield disco, the West coast ‘80s electro and no wave. João is currently working on a full length "White Haus" LP to be released by the end of this year.
Tara Perdida is a Portuguese punk rock band. It was originally an underground project, but upon the release of their last album, Lambe-Botas, they have become commercially successful, especially among young generations.
Tara Perdida is probably the most successful surviving Portuguese punk rock band (albeit not as successful as Peste&Sida or even Censurados on their heyday, but these bands disappeared or stopped playing punk), and has on several occasions opened NOFX and The Offspring concerts. The band featured in the opening line-up of the 2008 Lisbon, (Portugal), Super Bock Super Rock festival as guests of Iron Maiden.
