Toranja – Tiago Bettencourt

Toranja was a Portuguese musical group formed by Tiago Bettencourt (voice, guitars and piano), Ricardo Frutuoso (guitars), “Dodi” (bass) and “Rato” (drums).

They began as a project by Tiago Bettencourt created after being selected in a competition for the best new bands at the Super Rock Super Bock Festival, in 2001.

Participated in the compilation of Optimus. This theme had the collaboration of Jorge Palma. Mariana Norton leaves and is replaced by Cuca Roseta.

They recorded the track “Toma A Tua Bola de Football” for the unofficial CD of the World Cup in 2002.

The band’s first album – Esqussos – was released in 2003 and achieved great success, with songs such as “Carta” (awarded the Golden Globe for Best Song, in the 2004 edition) and “Fogo e Noite”.

At the end of 2004, they celebrated the success of their first album with two special shows: in Lisbon, with Camané and Pacman (Da Weasel; and in Porto with Pedro Abrunhosa and Manuel Cruz.
The second album – whose name is “Segundo” – was released in Portugal, in May 2005. The first single was the song “Laços”.

During 2006, the band went on tour with the Brazilian band Los Hermanos to several cities in Portugal. They release the album “Segundo” in Brazil.
In December 2006, the Toranjas stopped working for an indefinite period.

Tiago Bettencourt was born in the parish of Santa Cruz, Coimbra, in 1979, having grown up in the Lisbon area. His father was born on the Island of São Jorge, Azores, and his mother from Coimbra, was a Portuguese teacher at the Escola Salesiana do Estoril. He attended Colégio D. Luísa Sigea, in Estoril, with his brother João.

After Toranja, Bettencourt left Portugal for Canada to record his first solo album at Hotel2Tango studios in Montreal, the same studio that produced the successful album Funeral by Arcade Fire. The producer was Howard Bilerman. In Canada, he has already worked together with his support band, Mantha, composed of Pedro Gonçalves and João Lencastre. The result of the recording sessions was released as O Jardim (“The Garden”) in 2007. The song “Canção Simples” was a great success. His second album, Em Fuga, was released in 2010, and was followed by Tiago Na Toca & Os Poetas in 2011 and Acústico, in 2012, the latter consisting of 15 tracks and contains versions of his previous songs, performed together with guests such as : Modern Concerto, Lura, and Jorge Palma.

In 2014, Do Principio was released, consisting of 12 songs, including “Aquilo Que Eu Não Fiz”, a song with a strong political message. The singer presented the album in several concerts across Portugal.