Luís Varatojo

Luís Varatojo began his music career in 1986, founding the rock band Peste & Sida, which stood out in the Portuguese music scene in the late 1980s. With energetic music and direct messages, the band achieved significant notoriety, both in the specialized criticism and among the public, and recorded four albums, including the tribute album “Os Filhos da Madrugada cantam José Afonso”. The band started playing in small venues in Lisbon and quickly reached a wider audience after recording their first album “Veneno”.

In 1992, Luís Varatojo started the band Despe e Siga, which began as an alter ego of the parent band, but eventually became an autonomous artistic project. Despe e Siga recorded several albums, including a record of covers with lyrics adapted to the national reality, which achieved enormous success and won a gold record. The band also performed a large national tour with hundreds of shows.

In 2000, Luís Varatojo began collaborating with musician João Aguardela, which resulted in the creation of two distinct artistic projects: Linha da Frente and A Naifa. In Linha da Frente, several important Portuguese musicians from the 1990s came together to give voice to a set of poems by great Portuguese poets, set to music built essentially with samples and electronic programming. In A Naifa, they explored a musical language closer to fado and gave voice to a new generation of poets.

The collaboration with João Aguardela was fundamental to Luís Varatojo’s career, as it allowed him to explore new musical languages and work with different artists. Linha da Frente and A Naifa were innovative projects that contributed to Portuguese musical diversity.

In 2015, Luís Varatojo recorded the instrumental album “Fandango” with Gabriel Gomes, where he experimented with the Portuguese guitar in an electronic music context. This album was an opportunity for Luís Varatojo to explore new sounds and create more experimental music.

Throughout his career, Luís Varatojo has demonstrated himself to be a versatile and innovative musician, capable of working in different styles and musical projects. His contribution to Portuguese music is significant, and his collaboration with other artists has allowed him to create a rich and diverse body of work.