Rodrigo Leão is a Portuguese musician and composer. He was born in Lisbon in 1964. He became known for his musical compositions and participation in Portuguese bands such as Madredeus and Sétima Legião.
He co-founded the band Sétima Legião in 1982 and Madredeus in 1985. As his solo career began to take shape, he chose to suspend his participation with the respective bands in 1993 and 1994.
His solo work explores a combination of modern-classic compositions with more traditional song format and instrumentation. Several artists have participated in both his records and tours, such as Lula Pena or Adriana Calcanhotto in Alma Mater and Beth Gibbons and Ryuichi Sakamoto in Cinema.
His album, Cinema, was very successful in the Portuguese market, reaching #1 in sales and its promotion concerts in Portugal and Spain were frequently sold-out. In this album, the eclectic roots of his music and the influence of cinema can be appreciated.
Ana Vieira is the new member of the group providing the vocals.Neil Hannon participated in the album A Mãe of Rodrigo Leão and Cinema Ensemble..
In 2007 he composed the original soundtrack for the documentary serie Portugal, Um Retrato Social directed by António Barreto for RTP, the public Portuguese television channel. With 18 songs based in his last work he went on the tour Os Portugueses.