NEGA ROSA is Rosa Emilia Dias from Bahia (Brasil) and Cristiano Verardo from Venice (Italy). She sings - Portuguese and Italian - and he plays, does the arrangements and composes the music: everything in reggae !

But a different reggae, elegant and light, romantic and joyful, dancing and sensual.

Rosa has been living in Milano, Italy, for 7 years now, she sings since she was a child, and performs all over Italy. And now she wants to sing for her own people, too.

As a singer in the choir of the Pitura Freska Group, the most popular reggae band in Italy, Rosa met Cristiano, lead guitarist in the group.

It was love at the first note: together they have created a very personal reggae, which is not from Bahia nor from Jamaica: it is cool reggae, light reggae, a different reggae, which brings the Brasilian joy, grace and exuberance of Rosa's voice, to Cristiano's European politeness, melody and harmony.

The result is a sophisticated, light, animated and irresistible rhythm, so personal that you can identify it from the early notes of each of their songs. Rosa e Cristiano have created a sound, a peculiar way of harmonising and a form of singing which transforms anything they touch into a thing of their own: fully personal, fully reggae.

The songs, from the romantic ones, to the more rhythmic ones, to the sophisticated ones: an Italian hit of the sixties, a song by Pino Daniele, a Djavan ballad, and a Gilberto Gil classic tune, all gets transformed into the NEGA ROSA cool reggae, the so-called "Lovers reggae".

Everything is similar - everything is different.

For better mixing "the best from the three worlds" - this meeting between black Brasilian soul and classical European elegance - this record was produced and finished with the best American technology. Produced by Tuta Aquino e Cristiano Verardo and recorded and mixed in the SOUNDTRACK STUDIOS in New York.

This new record by NEGA ROSA is being released in Italy and in Brasil and this duo will share its duties among tours, presentations, promotions and recordings in the two countries.

In my 25 years of musical career, I seldom had the opportunity to work with such a good singer, with such lightness and musical competence.

Nelson Motta, New York

Rosa Emilia arrives to Italy with a great musical experience and an album, "ULTRALEVE", realised with authors Nelson Angelo, Cacaso, Sueli Costa, Jaques Morelembaum, Cristovão Bastos,all Brasilian musicians and arrangers.

She had started to sing when she was only eight years old, by chance of course.

In Rio de Janeiro she studied lyric singing with soprano Victoria Elnecave and with baritone Eladio Perez Gonzalez.

In Italy she has collaborated with the group "Pitura Freska" in their second and third album "Duri i Banchi" e " Yeah! " and with the group she has taken part, as a choir singer, to their 1994 Tour 94.

She can be heard singing in Fabrizio De Andrè latest album titled "Anime Salve".

NEGA ROSA live set is composed, apart from Rosa Emilia, by Cristiano Verardo - guitarist, composer and producer of "Pitura Freska", by Mark Schmith on drums, Marco Ponchiroli on keyboards, Fabio Zanon on bass, and Gianni K. on sax.