He was born in Torres Vedras, Portugal, in 1960. With a background in architecture and being a self-taught musician, he stood out in the world of Portuguese pop music, especially as the leader of Mler ife Dada, a legendary group from the 1980s in Portugal.
His musical influence extends to various areas, including music for films, theatre, and choreographies. In the field of dance, he created music for choreographies by renowned artists such as Vera Mantero, Mark Tompkins, Paulo Ribeiro, Aldara Bizarro, Joao Fiadeiro, Constanza Brncic, and Malpelo, among others. His contributions to emblematic events are also noteworthy, such as the anthem for the Universal Exhibition of Lisbon Expo 98 and the music for the fireworks at the opening of Porto 2001, European Capital of Culture. He was also the author of the advertising jingle for Lisbon 94, European Capital of Culture, which won the award for the best Portuguese advertising music in 1994.
His focus has been on the guitar, where he has developed a personal language through continuous research and experimentation. Since the 1990s, he has established himself as a reference in the field of free improvisation and has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, including Agustí Fernández, Agustí Martínez, Albert Cirera, Alexandre Frangenheim, Anna Subirana, Damo Suzuki, DjOLive, Don Malfon, El Pricte, Eric M, Gianni Gebbia, Graham Haynes, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Jakob Draminsky, Jean-Marc Montera, Joan Saura, John Bisset, Kato Hideki, LeQuan Ninh, Lliba Vilavecchia, Massimo Zu, Michael Moore, Michael Vatcher, Paolo Angeli, Peter Kowald, Ramon Prats, Rodelius, Shelley Hirsch, Tom Chant, and Víctor Nubla, as well as with most Portuguese improvisers.
In the field of improvisation with dance, he has performed in various European countries with renowned dancers such as Mark Tompkins, Vera Mantero, Steve Paxton, Lisa Nelson, Julyen Hamilton, David Zambrano, Constanza Brncic, Sonia Sánchez, Frans Poelstra, Boris Charmatz, João Fiadeiro, María Muñoz, Pep Ramis, Andrés Corchero, and Mathilde Monier. Nuno Rebelo is also known for creating sound sculptures, which have been exhibited in Portugal, Norway, and at the I-Park Environmental Art Biennial in Connecticut, United States.
He has shared his knowledge by conducting workshops on experimental techniques for the electric guitar in various Portuguese cities, as well as improvisation workshops in Portugal, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. Together with Mark Tompkins, they have led the workshop “Audible movement, visible sound,” which explores the performative interaction between dance and music and has been held in various cities such as Strasbourg, Lisbon, Bucharest, Ljubljana, Vienna, Toulouse, and Mulhouse.
