Hailing from Barcelos, Glockenwise is a rock band that has been active since 2006. The current lineup features Nuno Rodrigues on vocals, Rafael Ferreira on guitar, Rui Fiusa on bass, and Cláudio Tavares on drums.
The Early Years: From Small-Town Boredom to the National Stage (2006-2010)
It all began in 2006, when Rodrigues, Ferreira, and Fiusa—then just teenagers around 15 years old—decided to pick up their instruments. As Ferreira later explained, their motivation was simple and honest: they wanted to fight off the boredom of growing up in a small town. With the arrival of Cristiano Veloso on drums, the trio expanded into a quartet. During this formative period, their sound was heavily shaped by the energy of the Portuguese rock scene, drawing inspiration from bands like The Vicious Five, Black Bombaim, and Wraygunn.
The stage was their natural habitat from day one. In their very first year, they joined the lineup of the Barcelos On The Rocks festival. By 2008, they were making waves at the Rockstratu’s band competition; although they narrowly missed out on the grand prize to fellow locals GoDoT, they swept the awards for Best Vocalist and Best Stage Presence.
The band’s recording debut arrived in 2009 with their self-titled EP, released by the prestigious independent label Lovers & Lollipops. This release provided the fuel for a string of performances across the country, taking them to iconic venues such as Armazém do Chá, Cabaret Maxime, and the Milhões de Festa festival. Their reputation was further solidified in 2010 when they were featured as FNAC New Talents and highlighted by the newspaper Público as a leading force in the burgeoning Barcelos rock scene.
The Rise: “Building Waves” and International Recognition (2011–2015)
The band’s debut full-length album arrived in January 2011. Built on a raw foundation of punk and rock, “Building Waves” was met with widespread critical acclaim, with journalist Mário Lopes naming it one of the best Portuguese albums of the year. Its impact even crossed borders: Glockenwise earned a nomination for Best European Independent Album by Impala, sharing the shortlist with global heavyweights like Adele, M83, and Sigur Rós. That same summer, they made their major festival debut, opening the secondary stage at Super Bock Super Rock just before Tame Impala.
Maintaining a steady creative pace, the band released “Leeches” in 2013 and “Heat” in 2015. Both records stayed true to their partnership with the independent label Lovers & Lollipops and kept English as the primary language for their songwriting.
The Reinvention: Embracing Portuguese (2018–Present)
In 2018, now performing as a trio, Glockenwise underwent a profound identity shift with the release of “Plástico”. For the first time, the band pivoted to singing in Portuguese—a move that earned them the highest praise of their career. The album became a staple on “Best of the Year” lists for major publications like Público, Observador, and Time Out, as well as dominating the airwaves on stations like Antena 3 and Radar.
In 2020, while between albums, the group collaborated with the iconic Rui Reininho on the single “Calor,” a reimagined Portuguese version of their earlier track “Heat.” This period of creative maturity culminated in 2023 with the release of “Gótico Português”, an album that broke a five-year hiatus and reaffirmed the band as one of the most singular voices in contemporary Portuguese rock.
