Leonardo Marques

Origin

Belo Horizonte, MG

Years active

1998

Genres

alternative rock, indie rock, mpb

Instruments

guitar, vocals

Biography

Leonardo Rios Marques is a Brazilian musician, record producer, and studio owner born in Belo Horizonte on December 2, 1978. He studied at the Fundação de Educação Artística in Belo Horizonte, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, and pursued a degree in Literature at UFMG. He is also one of the founders of the Belgian-Brazilian record label La Femme Qui Roule and operates the Estúdio Ilha do Corvo in Belo Horizonte.

During the late 1990s and 2000s, Marques gained prominence as the guitarist for the alternative rock band Diesel, later renamed Udora. With Udora, he performed at the main stage of Rock in Rio III in 2001, later relocating to the United States where the band signed with Clive Davis's J-Records. After returning to Brazil, he co-founded the band Transmissor, releasing multiple albums, and eventually embarked on a solo career with critically acclaimed works such as Dia e noite no mesmo céu, Curvas, lados, linhas tortas sujas e discretas, and Early Bird, which received international releases in Japan and Europe.

As a prolific producer, Marques has collaborated extensively with the band Maglore, co-producing albums like III and Todas as Bandeiras alongside Rafael Ramos. His production credits also include works for Young Lights, Moons, ICONILI, and Teago Oliveira, as well as a notable 2018 recording session with legendary singer Milton Nascimento, produced alongside Jonathan Wilson, Joey Waronker, and Gus Seyffert. His diverse contributions to the Brazilian indie and alternative rock scenes cement his status as a key figure in modern Brazilian music production.