Rodrigo Leão – Os Portugueses | O Rapaz da Montanha 

Composer Rodrigo Leão’s name has been known to the Portuguese and internacional public since the days of the band Sétima Legião. He later joined Madredeus, a project with which he raised his profile. In 1993, he released his first album under his own name, Ave Mundi Luminar, launching a solo career that would include an extensive discography, including soundtracks and collaborations with artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Neil Hannon (Divine Comedy), Beth Gibbons (Portishead) and Michelle Gurevich.

Now, 32 years after his debut as a solo musician, comes O Rapaz da Montanha (The Mountain Boy). And there’s no avoiding the adjective: Rodrigo Leão’s new album is surprising, both in musical terms and in terms of the composer’s career. He himself acknowledges this: “It was an unexpected record. I’ve had it in my head for three years and I’ve been building it in a very focused way, in a different way to my previous albums, in which the composition came out without any specific time or intention. Here, starting from that phrase by Ana Carolina [Costa] ‘If God forgives those who deceive/who forgives God?’ [included in the theme Cadeira Preta] I immediately began to think about what I was going to do. And now that it’s finished, I think it’s the most Portuguese record I’ve made to date.”

This notion of identity is true: it runs through several of the composer’s albums and is visible in the compilation Os Portugueses (2018). In fact, this new album could fit into that identity, which in one way or another has always been present in Leão’s work.

An album, more Portuguese than ever, where melodies become urgency and words gain ground – with choirs, percussion and ancient complicities tracing the portrait of a real and intimate country.

Now, in 2025, O Rapaz da Montanha actually presents a change of form and substance. Rodrigo Leão wanted to translate into songs the influences and artists he heard as a child in the 70’s. Produced by Rodrigo Leão, João Eleutério and Pedro Oliveira, this is an album made up of deep emotions, living memory and persistent hope. O Rapaz da Montanha features the participation of long-time musicians such as Pedro Oliveira and Gabriel Gomes, as well as special guests including José Peixoto, Carlos Poeiras and Francisco Palma.

The composer’s family also has a significant presence in this work, with contributions from his wife Ana Carolina Costa and his children, reinforcing the intimate and collective nature of the album. Musically, the use of choirs (in which the composer himself participates), which reinforces a collective feeling, and a marked percussion in some songs immediately evokes some Portuguese singer songwriters from that period, something that Leão recognizes. The lyrics – Ana Carolina Costa is the author of most of the words – also show a change of approach: the ethereal and melancholic feelings that are so well represented in Leão’s work give place here to a more direct language, which dialogues with a difficult but true reality.

Live, Rodrigo Leão performs with a luxury ensemble made up of Ana Vieira (voice), Viviena Tupikova (violin), Celina da Piedade (accordion), Carlos Tony Gomes (cello), Bruno Silva (viola), João Eleutério (guitar, bass and synthesizer) and Frederico Gracias (drums). As well as featuring songs from Rapaz da Montanha, the repertoire includes songs from previous albums and also from Madredeus. The show is a unique sound experience that celebrates Portuguese identity through carefully orchestrated instruments and voices, in a musical journey that reveals the various facets of Portugal’s soul, marked by Rodrigo Leão’s delicacy and innovation.

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