1) Formed in 1994, The Gift was initially a side project of the Dead Souls,… Read Full Bio ↴1) Formed in 1994, The Gift was initially a side project of the Dead Souls, Nuno Gonçalves and Miguel Ribeiro’s band at the time. The evolution from one project to another was natural, as they felt the Dead Souls sound was limited by their instrumentation (guitar, drums and bass)and they wanted to experiment with new sounds and explore new musical paths.
In September 1994, Sónia Tavares, Nuno and John Gonçalves, Miguel Ribeiro and Ricardo Braga enrolled in the Bar Ben Music Competition in Alcobaça and took second place in the competition, to everyone's great surprise, given the band’s short time in existence.
The band performed its first show at the Alcobaça Monastery in July 1995. This was followed by the Belém Cultural Centre (Lisbon) in September 1996 and the Labirintho Bar (Porto) in November 1996.
The Gift masterminded their first record, with the intention of using it as a demo for the media and labels. From this effort, “Digital Atmosphere” was born, a six track enhanced CD featuring interviews and videos, recorded at home but not available in stores. In 1997 the band went on the road, playing at over 30 theatres (many of which sold out) and released video at the end of the tour at Belém Cultural Centre and the Alcobaça Cine-Teatro shows.
Soon after the Digital Atmosphere Tour finished, Ricardo Braga left the band and The Gift was now a four member group once again. In 1998, they established themselves as an independent band forming g their own label, La Folie with the visionary goal of releasing a next record as independents.

Sónia Tavares, The Gift - photo by João Loureiro
In November 1998, the band’s first true record “Vinyl” is released. "Vinyl" combined the potentials of new technologies (samples and synthesizer) with classical instruments (violins, cellos, trumpets, saxophones etc.). “Vinyl” , which was fully funded by The Gift themselves, was named Album of the Year by the Diário de Notícias newspaper a first for a Portuguese independent band and began courting the attention of the labels that previously ignored The Gift’s work. In spite of this, the band chose to stay independent, opting to to use distribution contracts.
From November 1998 through 1999, The band performs over 80 shows, including the biggest Summer Festivals, sells out the most important venues in Lisbon and Porto, wins several awards with the first hit single “Ok! Do You Want Something Simple?” and sells over 35,000 records.
At the end of that year The Gift performs for the first time abroad, in Paris (at La Cigalle) and a few months later participates in the prestigious music fair MIDEM 2000 (in Cannes), taking the first step towards the band’s career outside Portugal.
In early 2000, the band closes the “Vinyl” era, simultaneously releasing the photo book “A Single Diary” (by Ana Pereira) and the video “Single Hand Camera Documentary” (by Gonçalo Covacich), two artistic visions and documentary pieces on the Vinyl Tour. Once again, all the, costs incurred were covered by the band establishing The Gift once and for all as a solid DIY band.
The steps taken abroad continued to gain momentum in June 2000 with the band’s first mini-tour outside Portugal, including dates in Germany (Expo 2000 – Hanover), Macau and again, France (Paris).
At the end of the year The Gift take a break from touring and start writing songs for the next album, some of which are introduced later in 2001 at the Eurosonic Festival in the Netherlands, representing Portugal .
Howie B produces “Film”, The Gift’s second album released again through theirown label, La Folie Records. The band shows its “Film” throughout the country, playing at the Paredes de Coura Festival, the optimushype@meco Festival (sharing the stage with Howie B and Matthew Herbert), at the Interactive TV’s launch in Portugal, live for Sic Radical channel, and radio Antena 3.
“Film” goes Gold at 25,000 units and The Gift win several more awards for its videos (“Waterskin” and “Question of Love” – the album’s first two singles). At the end of 2001, the band was once more invited by Cap Magellan to promote “Film” in Paris.
In March 2002, The Gift flies to the United States to enter the South by Southwest Music & Media Conference in Austin, Texas; in June returned to Paris to perform at the Hôtel de Ville Square; in August Popkomm and Musikfest Am-Ring festivals in Germany; Spain followed in September with shows in Barcelona; in October the band was back in the USA for a short tour in a few north-American cities New York); and in November its first concert in Madrid, Spain, took place.
Of the few performances in Portugal, the Manchester Mad Remixers (which featured The Gift together with Rodrigo Leão and Pedro Oliveira) concerts are a highlight (first at the nightclub Lux, and later at the Frágil and the Clinic bars). This was a project specially created for the "24 Hour Party People" film's premiere.
The band performs in numerous places, Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Bilbao, Vigo, New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, San Diego, London, Caracas, Dunkirk, amongst many other cities.
The Gift was invited to open for The Flaming Lips and Cousteau, and at the end of the year, in December 2003, get an invitation to perform for the recently launched Portuguese MTV, recording one of the first MTV Live shows in the history of MTV Portugal.
In 2004, The Gift celebrated its first 10 years in music and returned to album releases. By the end of the recording sessions, The Gift was faced with a double album, where two distinctive but complementary environments surfaced (one more intimate and introspective, the other more euphoric) and in which duality was the key word. The new relese, the first in three years, is entitled “AM-FM”.
“AM-FM” was released in November 2004 with great expectation from the group's fans, who rapidly sold out the presentation concerts in Alcobaça, Lisbon and Porto (a few days after the band's shows in London, New York and Los Angeles. A week after the retail release, “AM-FM” goes Silver and not long after Gold, selling more than 25, 000 copies.
In 2005 they won the MTV Europe Award for Best Portuguese Act.
The album Fácil de Entender, their first live album was released in 2006. Sells over 25,000 units.
The Gift acted with great success on the Expo 2008 Zaragoza, the day of Portugal at the exhibition.
In 2008 and 2009, The Gift's Sonia Tavares and Nuno Goncalves along with fellow musicians, Paulo Praça [Plaza]and Fernando Ribeiro record and tour with their side project Hoje’s: Amalia Hoje. Amalia Hoje garners triple platinum status selling over 85,000 units and is the Portuguese runaway Album of the Year.
2010 The Gift returns to record Their 5th Album explode and invite Ken Nelson [Coldplay, Gomez, Kings of Convenience, Badly Drawn Boy to produce the Album. The Gift spends three months in Madrid recording

2011 is the year of Explode. Explode is released in Portugal on 1 April and immediately goes to number one in the charts where it holds top ten for over 10 weeks.

Explode is scheduled to be released in North America on 27 September 2011

www.gift.pt

2) THE GIFT are a Symphonic Prog band from, London, formed after Mike Morton (vocals, 6/12 string acoustic guitar, piano and string arrangements) and Leroy James (lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, samples, effects and programming, piano and string arrangements) came up with the idea of creating a band and making a concept album at the same time.

The concept was devised by Mike Morton and was initially meant to be just one piece.
They brought in other musicians to help with the recording, viz. Jim Thomas (bass), Rod Haverhill (keyboards) and David Storey (drums) and THE GIFT was born.

The band made some initial demos and pressed on with the idea. They sent the demos out to various places and general opinion was positive. So positive in fact, that the Cyclops label (responsible for bands such as Mostly Autumn, Pineapple Thief, Saens and Tr3nity) gave them a deal.

THE GIFT had the desire and conviction to record the album itself. The idea initially was to record one multi-themed piece (a suite called Awake and Dreaming), about “savagery and war and the final triumph of piece” (as their MySpace biography notes), but Cyclops felt it need to be longer and asked them to record a slightly extended finish. This ended up as another suite (of 30 minutes in length), called Fountains of Ash about “domestic violence, again seeking solace in the human spirit” (from their MySpace bio).

Their sound is quite varied, but takes on a definite symphonic rock air to it. They have hard rocking sections, pastoral songs, and “complex time signatures, wild key changes and ambitious concepts.”

Their progressive rock influences include Pink Floyd, Genesis (Gabriel era), Yes, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, Tangerine Dream, Rush and Dream Theater. They also take influence from non-prog bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, The Who, Beatles, Massive Attack, U2, Sex Pistols and Prince.

Their debut album (a double CD) Awake and Dreaming, was released on October 9, 2006, by Cyclops.

3) The Gift is a funeral grunge band from Washington, DC featuring members of Turboslut, Exosus and Tradition Dies Here. Their debut LP "Mostly in Sickness" is out now on Amor y Lucha Records, www.amorylucha.org. Free tracks can be downloaded and streamed at their website, www.thegift.bandcamp.com.

Song for a Blue Heart
The Gift Lyrics

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Water on my lips, sweet fingers open my eyes, my heavy eyes
We smile like it was the last smile on earth, the smile of a blue heart, blue skin, blue songs.
I know, the colour is blue, maybe too much blue, I know
Make me scream I scream for you
Make me fly; I'm flying with you
Make me cry I cry for you
Water is Blue, water is blue, water is…
Never found a girl from another world

Never touch the floor with another one
Never breathe that air from another one
Never felt those eyes playing with my soul
Blue to be breath, blue to believe,

Blue to be felt by you, blue to be touched by you
Someday, somehow, somewhere!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Song for a Blue Heart" by The Gift evoke a sense of longing and emotional vulnerability. The opening lines describe a moment of awakening, where water and gentle touch bring the singer's eyes to life. This imagery suggests a metaphorical rebirth or newfound clarity. The repetition of "blue" throughout the song establishes a central theme and color symbolism.

The smile shared between the singer and their partner is portrayed as rare and precious, potentially the last smile they may experience. It represents the deep connection and profound love that resides within their blue hearts. This shade of blue might signify melancholy, sadness, or depth of emotion. The lyrics acknowledge that the prevalence of the color blue can be overwhelming, perhaps hinting at the intensity of their emotions.

The subsequent lines express the singer's willingness to be completely vulnerable and immersed in their love for their partner. They are willing to scream, fly, and cry for the person they adore, emphasizing the all-encompassing nature of their feelings. The repeated mention of water being blue reinforces the connection to the color symbolism and possibly alludes to a sense of purity or clarity that the love brings.

The following stanza delves into the singer's experiences with love, painting a picture of a lifelong search for someone unique and elusive. They have never encountered someone from a different world or had a connection as deep as the one they share with their current partner. Additionally, they have never experienced love or ambiance comparable to those of their current relationship.

The final lines of the song bring a sense of hope into focus. The repeated mentions of blue express the desire to be deeply understood and "felt" by their lover. The singer yearns for a future where their love can be embraced, regardless of the challenges they face. The use of the words "someday, somehow, somewhere" suggests an anticipation and belief in the possibility of this future unfolding, even if the specific details remain uncertain.

Overall, "Song for a Blue Heart" captures the depth of emotion and longing that can accompany profound love. The lyrics explore themes of vulnerability, intense connection, and hope for a fulfilling future. The use of the color blue as a recurring motif represents both the emotional intensity and the depth of the singer's search for love and understanding.

Line by Line Meaning

Water on my lips, sweet fingers open my eyes, my heavy eyes
The sensation of water on my lips brings me to consciousness as gentle fingers delicately pry open my tired eyes.

We smile like it was the last smile on earth, the smile of a blue heart, blue skin, blue songs.
Our smiles exude a profound sense of finality, representing a melancholic and deeply emotional state of being.

I know, the colour is blue, maybe too much blue, I know
I am aware that the predominant theme and emotion of this song is blue, perhaps even saturating it excessively.

Make me scream I scream for you
Evoke within me such intense emotions that they manifest as screams, all directed towards you.

Make me fly; I'm flying with you
Transcend my terrestrial existence, allowing me to soar through the skies in perfect harmony with you.

Make me cry I cry for you
Stir deep emotions within me, prompting tears to cascade down my face, all because of you.

Water is Blue, water is blue, water is…
Repetition emphasizes the constant presence and association of the color blue with water, symbolizing its essence.

Never found a girl from another world
I have never encountered a girl who belongs to a distant realm, separate from the world I know.

Never touch the floor with another one
I have never experienced the sensation of standing on solid ground with someone else beside me.

Never breathe that air from another one
The air I have inhaled has never been shared with another person, creating a sense of exclusivity.

Never felt those eyes playing with my soul
No one has ever gazed into my eyes in a way that captivates and toys with the very essence of my being.

Blue to be breath, blue to believe, Blue to be felt by you, blue to be touched by you
The color blue embodies the act of breathing, the act of faith, the feeling of being experienced and touched, all in relation to you.

Someday, somehow, somewhere!
At an indeterminate time and place, destiny holds the promise of fulfillment and realization.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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