About
Ruben Monteiro
Ruben Monteiro is a producer, multi-instrumentalist and composer with an unusual breadth of musical genres. His projects range from Mediterranean music to progressive rock, from Atlantic to Eastern traditions, through fusion, electronic and even the most extreme modern and contemporary sounds.
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THE WORK
His work generally focuses on the constant dialogue between influences from different cultures and musical traditions and modern music.
Over a career spanning more than two decades, marked by the release of 25 albums and 1 book, he has devoted himself to learning different musical languages and the intensive study of the guitar (classical, fretless and microtonal), the Turkish Saz BaÄŸlama, the Arabic Oud, the Hurdy Gurdy, the Afghan Rubab, the Cretan Laouto, the Mandolin, the Viola Braguesa, the Portuguese Guitar, the Drums, the Piano and singing.
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COLLABORATIONS
Over the years, he has collaborated and performed with countless artists, bands and orchestras, including Alma Menor, MU, Zeca Medeiros, Sons da Suévia, the Torres Vedras Volunteer Firefighters Band, Mar & Ilha, Mauro Ramos, the Thíria project, The Batelleurs, among others in Portugal, and internationally with Chris Woods (UK), Efrén López (Spain), Ostad Farzad Andalibi (Iran), Volkan Incüvez (Turkey), David Severac (France), Sadhu Das and Kangal Keep (India), Belle Morte (Poland), the International Orchestra of Macau conducted by Chinese Maestro Yan Huichang, the ‘One World One Family’ Symphony Orchestra from India, the ‘What is not ours to carry’ project by Allison Clark in Ireland, the Italian Orchestra ‘Montelago 2023’, among others.
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MUSICAL PRODUCTION
In addition to his work as a musician and composer, he is also involved in music production, having produced most of his own work, as well as productions by national artists such as Mar & Ilha (Azores), Ricardo Gordo, Jaya Girão, Magmell, Jimmy Joe, Pedro Mendes, Ó Diácho, Modo Vilão, Rising Vultures, Albaluna, Moon Rover, Dracarin, the soundtrack for Carlos Fraga's documentary ‘Ser Cigano’ (Being Gypsy), among others. On the international scene, he has produced and continues to produce works for practically the entire world, including the United States, India, Turkey, all of Europe, Brazil, China and Japan in his daily work, where the albums by Maryam Smith (USA/India) and Vitor Maciel (Brazil) stand out, as well as his participation in the albums by Belle Morte (Poland) and Jerry Tambora Garcia (USA), to name but a few.
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HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS
Throughout his career, he has been recognised for his projects and those he has been involved in, such as the 2022 Gold Award presented by New York Festivals TV and Film Awards for the music video he participated in, ‘A Musical Toast’, by CGTN (China). Also noteworthy is his participation in the ‘Cloud Orchestra’ with an hurdy gurdy workshop for the whole world through the National and Traditional Orchestra of China.
In 2025, he participated in the world's longest World Music festival, breaking two Guinness records in India at the World Cultural Festival ‘One World One Family’ organised by the Sathya Sai Grama institution in celebration of the centenary of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He was also part of the orchestra with the largest number of nationalities involved.
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EDUCATION, TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS
Education and teaching are part of his journey, having contributed to the training of countless musicians and students by sharing his knowledge of different musical languages, composition and production techniques, and the various instruments he masters in workshops and classes. He conducts the ‘Orquestra Danada’, a community orchestra that brings together musicians and music lovers of all musical genres and is open to the entire community.
ALBALUNA
Albaluna is the name of the project to which he has devoted most of his attention and focus. It is a band founded in 2010 by Albaluna himself, with the aim of merging his diverse musical universes, namely traditional music from different cultural heritages and progressive rock. With this project, he has released five albums and four EPs, with which he has travelled the world, visiting China, India, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, the Mayotte Islands, Canada and practically all of Europe.
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His history includes performances with different groups in venues and festivals such as the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, the Greek Temple of Segesta in Sicily, Italy, the Macau Cultural Centre in China, the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Sanat Merkezi hall in Izmir, Turkey, the MED Festival in Loulé, Portugal, the Penang World Music Festival in Malaysia, the VEF Culture Palace in Riga, Latvia, the Celtic Festival of Montelago in Italy, the MISR public library in Cairo, Egypt, the Valmier Muizas Festival in Latvia, the Tal'Guitart Festival in Agadir, Morocco, the Oryentalis Festival in Montreal, Canada, among many others.
PUBLICATIONS
The publication of new works has been a constant in his active artistic life, with a total of 25 publications, including albums and EPs, and a book on the accordion published in 2024, ‘O Universo da Sanfona’ (The Hurdy Gurdy Universe).
The Hurdy Gurdy Universe is a book that explores the musician's relationship with the instrument, containing an important article on the history of the hurdy gurdy and a series of interviews with some of the most iconic figures in the world of the instrument today, such as Nigel Eaton (a musician who has performed with Led Zeppelin and Lorena McKennitt) and the Austrian Matthias Loibner, among many others.
This publication contributes to the history of the accordion in Portugal and Europe, containing not only unpublished information but also being the first book in Portuguese written by a Portuguese author dedicated to this instrument.
FORMATS, FORMATIONS AND LIVE PERFORMANCES
Ruben Monteiro presents his work under his own name in different formats and with different formations, adapting to the type of concert he is proposing.
He bases the repertoire for each concert on his personal and original songbook, as well as on his specific instrumental compositions for each of the instruments he plays.
Focusing on his most recent albums, NUBERO, KAIRÓS and CHRONOS, a new show is born where you can hear songs in Portuguese, Turkish and English, as well as the hurdy gurdy, microtonal guitar, Turkish baÄŸlama, oud, Braguesa guitar and Portuguese guitar.
