Music of Portugal

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The musicality of the Portuguese language has also inspired non-native speakers to use it in their recordings, for example Mil i Maria.


Portuguese music was influenced by music from Ancient Rome's musical tradition brought into the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans and the rich artistic Europen tradition. Its genres range from classical to popular music. Portugal's music history includes musical history from the medieval Gregorian chants through Carlos Seixas' symphonies era to the composers of the modern era. Musical history of Portugal can be divided in different ways. Portuguese music encompasses musical production of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern eras.

Classical music[edit]



Folk music[edit]


Amália Rodrigues, the Portuguese singer known as Queen of Fado.
Main article: Fado





Regional folk music[edit]

Transmontana Bagpipe
The Portuguese musical instrument Cavaquinho used in traditional music.






Popular music[edit]

Famous artists and bands included in the past Cândida Branca Flor, Tonicha, Paco Bandeira, Paulo de Carvalho, José Cid, Linda de Suza, Madalena Iglésias, António Variações, Duo Ouro Negro, Roberto Leal and Ornatos Violeta. Nowadays some of the most popular acts are Aurea, Amor Electro, The Legendary Tigerman, Madredeus, Sétima Legião, Rádio Macau, GNR, Xutos & Pontapés, Quinta do Bill, The Gift, David Fonseca, Buraka Som Sistema, Sam The Kid, Mil i Maria and Boss AC. Other popular music include bands born out of Portuguese telenovelas, with the first wave of such bands including 4Taste and D'ZRT, who went on to gain national popularity. Portugal has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1964, its best result being the 6th place achieved by Lucia Moniz's folk inspired song "O meu coração não tem cor" in 1996, penned by Pedro Vaz Osorio. Since then Portugal never had a Top 10 place.

Electronic music[edit]

In electronica, Underground Sound of Lisbon was a musical project that brought international attention to the Portuguese DJs, namely Rui da Silva – the only Portuguese musician to reach #1 on the UK charts – and DJ Vibe, Pete tha Zouk. Some other important names of this kind of music are Buraka Som Sistema and Micro Audio Waves. In Porto, the hometown to numerous talents such as Nuno Forte, Drum n' Bass styles are immensely popular, and the city has hosted various important international names in the genre such as Noisia, The Panacea and Black Sun Empire. Also, in the Psychedelic Trance genre there are a worldwide famous project: Paranormal Attack.

Experimental and Avantgarde[edit]


Heavy metal[edit]

Moonspell live in Kraków, Poland in 2007.

The biggest exponent of heavy metal music in Portugal are the bands Moonspell, Ava Inferi, Ramp, Heavenwood, Corpus Christii, Reaktor, W.C. Noise and Tarantula, which have achieved international recognition, and have signed record deals with some of the most important international Heavy Metal Labels such as Century Media and Napalm Records for Moonspell, Massacre Records and Listenable Records for Heavenwood, Season of Mist for Ava Inferi, Candlelight Records for Corpus Christii, Nuclear Blast Records for Reaktor and AFM Records for Tarantula.

Heavy metal made by Portuguese bands is sold in all major records / music shops in all European countries such as Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Poland and Turkey. Moonspell and Heavenwood achieved markets such as East Europe / Russia, Asia, North and South America.[citation needed]

Others bands like Miss Lava, Holocausto Canibal, Sirius, Factory of Dreams, Ramp, Decayed, Filli Nigratium Infernallium, Morte Incandescente, Gwydion, Switchtense, Grog, Bizarra Locomotiva, Thee Orakle, More Than a Thousand and Oratory also achieved some international recognition.

Hip hop[edit]

Main article: Hip hop Tuga

The beginning of the 21st century was the origin of a new wave of Portuguese Hip Hop singers, who adapted foreign sounds to the Portuguese reality and who sing in Portuguese. Some of the best examples are Allen Halloween, Da Weasel, Valete, Regula, NGA, Boss AC and Sam the Kid.




This is a relatively new sound in Portugal. Despite being an Iberian country, Portugal never had clear influences from the Caribbean beats. This style came to the country in the 90s, following a Spanish and world trend. Examples of Latin music singers in Portuguese are Ana Malhoa and Mil i Maria.


Main article: Pimba

Pimba music is the Portuguese version of the euro Schlager or the Balkan Turbo-Folk. It's named after the 1995 hit Pimba Pimba, by Emanuel.[1] Some of its biggest names are Emanuel, Ágata, Suzana, Micaela, Ruth Marlene and Quim Barreiros. This genre mixes traditional sounds with accordion, Latin beats and funny or religious (mainly kitch) lyrics.

Political (Música de Intervenção)[edit]

Sculpture of Zeca Afonso in Grândola.




Reggae and Ska[edit]

More underground but very prominent are Portuguese reggae and ska. Some of the more famous bands of these types include Primitive Reason, Three and a Quarter and Purocracy. This music is popular among young people, with its main roots based in Lisbon and the surrounding areas.


Main article: Portuguese rock

Portuguese rock was born in the 1980s, with acts like Rui Veloso and Jorge Palma. An example of a popular Portuguese rock band, having a long history, is Xutos & Pontapés who've been playing for over 30 years and are known widely throughout Portugal, as well as Mão Morta, a unique and controversial group with 25 years of existence. Well known solo singers include Rui Veloso, Jorge Palma, and Pedro Abrunhosa. Clã (pop rock), Fingertips, (pop rock), Blasted Mechanism (experimental electro-rock), Faithfull (soft rock), Suspiria Franklyn (punk-rock/new wave), Riding Pânico (post rock), Linda Martini (post/noise rock), peixe : aviao (post-rock), Ornatos Violeta (indie rock), Stereo Parks (Indie Rock), A Book in the Shelf (grunge rock), Dream Circus (grunge rock), Decreto 77, (punk rock), Mazgani (alternative) or Green Echo (experimental dub), are other important acts.

The indie and alternative rock movements are also popular in Portugal. Some indie and alternative bands and artists from Portugal are Os Pontos Negros, Memória de Peixe, We Trust, B Fachada, Linda Martini, The Glockenwise, Capitão Fausto, Frankie Chavez, Stereoboy, First Breath After Coma, Samuel Úria, indignu, Quelle Dead Gazelle, Noiserv, Best Youth and Big Summer.


The highest exponents of this kind of music in Portugal are Tony Carreira and Marco Paulo (both, and even other performers, have a certain level of overlap with the Pimba genre, even partial or just in certain songs). The poet-singer-songwriter Fausto Bordalo Dias, a significant contributor to the modern romantic genre, can be compared to Leonard Cohen.

Singers of Portuguese-descent[edit]


See also[edit]


  1. ^ Lusa news agency (19 September 2013). "Bruno Nogueira e Manuela Azevedo dizem: “Deixem o pimba em paz”". P3 (Público) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 June 2014. 

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