It is not easy to establish a beginning for Rodrigo Leão’s career. Maybe we should turn back the clock twenty years, when a group of three childhood friends decided to create a band which will become a reference in portuguese pop for years to come: Sétima Legião .
And then came Dias da Madredeus. Rodrigo Leão found in Pedro Ayres Magalhães the ideal soulmate for his musical idea. Together they have built what we know today: an all new concept and success for Portuguese contemporary music – Madredeus. The rest, as we say, is history.
In 1993, the decisive test arrived: the release of the album Ave Mundi Luminar, under the name Rodrigo Leão & Vox Ensemble. He abandons the pop song format to proceed through more contemporaneous sounds, mixed with vocal and musical classical influences. Ave Mundi Luminar was welcomed by both critics and public, and enjoyed very good record sales in countries like Japan, Spain or Belgium.
Two years later, Mysterium, an exclusive EP, was released in Portugal and Spain, including themes from Ave Mundi Luminar and three new tracks. By this time Rodrigo Leão had left Madredeus, which means that Mysterium turned out to be a kind of initiation rite. The following year, 1996, saw the release of Theatrum. On his second solo album, the composer travelled on to gloomier and more disturbing territories, away from the light of Ave Mundi Luminar. With Alma Mater (2000) we witness the return of happiness. The careful selection of the repertoire are the reflection of a brighter and calmer personal and creative stage. Alma Mater also brings back the songs, with the voices of Lula Pena and the brazilian Adriana Calcanhotto generously providing new horizons for this music.
Cinema (2004) becomes a series of soundtrack excerpts. It is, certainly, the most accomplished of Rodrigo Leão's records. Here Leão appears as a self voiced composer, of ripe age and as diverse as one can be. It isn't by chance that Beth Gibbons or Ryuichi Sakamoto have agreed to participate on Cinema. These colaborations have even exceeded one's expectations in songs like Lonely Carousel, with Gibbons assuming a new balcanic accent, or to the sweet melody which Sakamoto found for ‘Antonio’.
Late 2006 witnessed the arrival of Rodrigo’s first retrospective work, entiled ‘Mundo – The Best of Rodrigo Leão 1993 – 2006’. We can find several of the artist’s first musical landmarks, such as ‘Carpe Diem’ or ‘Ave Mundi’ which were completely re recorded with new arrangements, as well as five brand new tracks, exclusively recorded for this CD.
In 2008 the portuguese national television commisioned a prime time series in order to make a portrait of Portugal over the last five decades. Rodrigo was invited to compose an original score for the series. It was titled ‘Portugal, um retrato social’. The record came out and shortly after was certified gold.
Instrumentation
Rodrigo Leão - keyboards
Ana Vieira - Vocals
Ângela Silva - Vocals
Celina da Piedade - Acordeon
Viviena Toupikova - Violin
Marco Pereira - Cello
Bruno Silva - Viola
Luis Aires - Bass
Luis San Payo - Drums
Discography
2007 - Portugal Um Retrato Social
2006 - O Mundo (Sony BMG)
2004 - Cinema (Sony)
2001 - Pasión (Sony)
2000 - Alma Mater (Sony)
1996 - Theatrum (Sony)
1995 - Mysterium Ep (Sony)
1993 - Ave Mundi Luminar(Sony)
Site
www.rodrigoleao.pt
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