O.W.T.O. aims to provide Algarvians with its very own original music, of which it can feel proud to support, celebrate and, with a nod to an ol’skool approach, music that reminds you of your boy and girl days when what you hear is what happened when it was recorded. It’s also what you get when you see it live.

The initial creative drive of the O.W.T.O. project was to write and record original music not only to complement, but to enhance the live music experience within the Algarve. This experience is dominated by performers playing cover versions. A further aim of the project was to cross the cultural divide between international musicians who have settled in Portugal and Portuguese talent and audiences. There is still some work to be done in that area. Still, initial live shows have managed to provide opportunities for local vocalists to step away from their usual cover version territory and perform original chart-topping music with international and award-winning musicians.

So far, O.W.T.O. has released two singles from their debut EP Grooves & Tunes. The award-winning Don’t Push It is a track that features R&B, soul, and country vibes. It speaks to the ebb and flow of having loved ones, who sometimes get on your nerves! The second release, This is Amazing, is reminiscent of that much-loved Motown and Philadelphia groove, with lush production and a message we could probably all do with being reminded of: Don’t forget to remember to celebrate the good things in life.

The track Don’t Push It has since received mention and shortlisting for a World Songwriting Award.

But there is more. The first two releases have topped the charts in Portugal for pop, and O.W.T.O. is receiving airplay across the Pond in the USA. All this from a recording studio in the heartland of the rural idyll that is São Brás de Alportel.
And that’s not all. O.W.T.O. has recently released two new videos for their debut singles, and I am thrilled to shout about the collaboration with Michael Watson, an award-winning Director of Photography. If you have seen Fight Night – The Million Dollar Heist starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Hart and a whole host of Hollywood big hitters, then you have seen his work.

Michael is a recent settler in the Algarve, and on hearing the music of O.W.T.O., was keen to lend his experience and talents for filming duties. He has also committed to using his considerable talents for the filming of the band’s third video, Tell Me in the Morning, a track that fuses the sometimes incompatibility within relationships with a funky Afro-Groove beat and bassline that the devil himself would be proud of!

2026 will see O.W.T.O. lighting up a theatre stage near you. The project is currently recruiting vocal talent, so if you have what it takes or know someone who might, please get in touch. You can scan the Instagram code below, (or if you are more like me, and still a little old school, owto.pt@gmail.com). Plans are well underway for a host of international artists to complete the line-up for what promises to be an evening of large G&Ts – Grooves and Tunes.

To ensure there will be something for everyone, and with European Classical music at the heart of their performance, O.W.T.O. will be supported by The Concept Quartet, featuring Catherine Francis, Betty Martins and Martin Turnlund (whose credits include international soprano Lesley Garrett, Rouge Manouche, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and many more.

O.W.T.O. is happening right here right now. It is new, fresh, and lays down grooves that make you want to say: “What the hell, where’s the dance floor?’”

In the meantime, it can be heard on all the usual music streaming platforms, and you can find their collaborations with Michael Watson on YouTube. Their concerts promise to deliver music across cultural divides, featuring a diverse range of influences – Mozart to Metallica, Jazz, Rock, Soul and R&B.