Formed in 1994, The Gift was initially a side project of the Dead Souls, Nuno Gonçalves, El Guam and Miguel Ribeiro's band at the time.

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 a video at the end of the tour at the Belém Cultural Centre and Alcobaça Cine-Teatro shows.

From November 1998 through 1999, the band performed over 80 shows, including the biggest Summer Festivals, selling out the most important venues in Lisbon and Porto, won several awards with the first hit single, "Ok!

At the end of that year The Gift performed for the first time abroad in Paris (at La Cigalle), and a few months later participated in the prestigious music fair MIDEM 2000 (in Cannes), taking the first step towards the band's career outside Portugal.

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 took a break from touring and started writing songs for the next album, some of which were introduced later in 2001 at the Eurosonic Festival in the Netherlands, representing Portugal.

In March 2002, The Gift flew to the United States to enter the South by Southwest Music & Media Conference in Austin, Texas; in June they 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 US for a short tour in a few North-American cities (New York City); 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 were a highlight (first at the nightclub Lux, and later at the Frágil and the Clinic bars).

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.

In 2008 and 2009, The Gift's Sónia Tavares and Nuno Gonçalves, along with fellow musicians, Paulo Praça [Plaza] and Fernando Ribeiro, recorded and toured with their side project Hoje.

In September 2016, the group released a new single featuring legendary British musician Brian Eno, titled Love Without Violins.