Olive Tree Dance

Olive Tree Dance

Olive Tree Dance is a Portuguese band formed in 2003 by Renato Oliveira. The group currently consists of Renato Oliveira on didgeridoo, Hugo Danin on drums and Magupi on multi-percussion. It develops an all-acoustic approach to dance music, combining tribal sounds from indigenous instruments with rhythms associated with world music and dance music.

The band is associated with didgeridoo performance and has been described as a form of bio natural dance music, using live instruments in a setting where dance music is often made electronically. Its sound draws on ancient African-Brazilian influences and jazz, with strong percussion at the centre of the arrangements. The result is presented as an organic, rhythmic style intended for both listening and dancing.

Olive Tree Dance emerges from Renato Oliveira’s solo work, following his first solo album, Deep Inside the Organic, recorded in Liverpool. The project develops further through jams at the Andanças Festival in 2005, where the band begins to take shape with drums and percussion. A later invitation from the Australian Embassy leads to a live television performance in Portugal for Seven New Wonders of the World and Portugal.

The group releases its first EP, Urban Roots, on Optimus Records. In 2010, it issues its first full-length album as a band, Didj Dance All Beauty!, on Natural Groove Records. That album includes longer versions of tracks from Urban Roots alongside new material.