Ornatos_Violeta

Ornatos Violeta

Ornatos Violeta

Portuguese alternative rock band

Ornatos Violeta are a Portuguese rock band from Porto. The band, often referred to simply as Ornatos, consists of vocalist Manel Cruz, bassist Nuno Prata, guitarist Peixe and drummer Kinörm. Elísio Donas was the band's keyboardist until his death in 2023.[1]

Quick Facts Origin, Genres ...

Their main period of activity was between 1991 and 2002. Since then, the band has reunited twice: in 2012, when they played a few concerts across Portugal, and in 2018. This last reunion remains active as of 2023.[2]

Ornatos Violeta, whose music is influenced by funk, jazz and ska, grew over the years to become a reference of Portuguese music of the late 1990s. The band has released two albums: Cão! in 1997 and O Monstro Precisa de Amigos in 1999, both highly-acclaimed by the Portuguese press.[3][4][5]

History

In 1997, Ornatos Violeta released their first album Cão! (Dog!), which included the song "Letra S", a duet with Manuela Azevedo, vocalist of Portuguese band Clã. In the following year, during the Expo 98, they collaborated on the compilation Tejo Beat alongside Boss AC, Blasted Mechanism, Zen and Flood with the song "Tempo de Nascer".

Their second and last album, O Monstro Precisa de Amigos (The Monster Needs Friends) was released in 1999, with a more carefully thought production and a more mellow style. The album contained the singles "Ouvi Dizer", a duet with Portuguese musician Vitor Espadinha, and "Capitão Romance", with Gordon Gano, vocalist of the American band Violent Femmes. During 1999 they helped to produce XX Anos XX Bandas, a tribute to the Portuguese band Xutos & Pontapés, with a cover their song "Circo de Feras".

After some speculation about their future, Ornatos Violeta split up in 2002.[6] The band members went on to work independently on several other projects in the following decade, while a cult following started to grow around Ornatos, in particular around the work of Manel Cruz, author of most of the lyrics, and protagonist of newer projects such as Pluto, Foge Foge Bandido and SuperNada.[7]

In honor of the 10 years since their last concert, and taking into account the consolidation of their status as a cult band,[8] the group decided to reunite and schedule a series of celebration concerts, that took place during the year of 2012.[9] The band performed seven shows, which were at the time promoted as being their last. The first was at Paredes de Coura Festival, three shows in the Coliseu dos Recreios (Lisbon), three shows at the Coliseu do Porto and one show at the Coliseu Micaelense in Ponta Delgada, Azores.[9] After these shows, Ornatos Violeta disbanded again.

In late 2018, Ornatos Violeta reunited for a second time. The band announced three dates to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 1999 album O Monstro Precisa de Amigos.[10] During 2019, five more dates were announced. The band remains active and playing shows as of 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

  • 2011 - Inéditos/Raridades

References

  1. [1]
    Lusa, Inês Pinto Pereira (2023-05-29). "Morreu Elísio Donas, teclista dos Ornatos Violeta, aos 48 anos". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-05-31.
  2. [2]
    "Ornatos Violeta de volta aos palcos" (in Portuguese). porto24. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  3. [3]
    PÚBLICO. ""Blitz" elege os 25 melhores álbuns portugueses das últimas quatro décadas". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  4. [4]
    "BLITZ – "O Monstro Precisa de Amigos", dos Ornatos Violeta, faz precisamente 20 anos. História do álbum que marcou os anos 90 e atravessou gerações". Jornal blitz (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  5. [5]
    Coelho, Sara Otto (22 November 2014). "O monstro nasceu há 15 anos e continua a fazer amigos" (in Portuguese). Observador. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  6. [6]
    Pereira, Sílvia (1 October 2002). "Ornatos Violeta: o fim da canção". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  7. [7]
    "Reedições e inéditos para os 20 anos dos Ornatos Violeta". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 10 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  8. [8]
    "Ornatos acrescentam três datas ao seu regresso" (in Portuguese). Sol. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  9. [9]
    "Ornatos Violeta nos coliseus de Lisboa e Porto em outubro" (in Portuguese). Blitz. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  10. [10]
    Oliveira, Adriana (12 December 2018). "BLITZ – Ornatos Violeta regressam para concertos no NOS Alive, MEO Marés Vivas e Festival F" (in European Portuguese). Blitz. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
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