Born in Naples on April 22, 1967,
Gennaro "Raiz" Della Volpe (his artistic aka often changing to
Rais,
Reeno, or
Raiss) debuted in the early '90s as the lead singer of
Almamegretta. Blending dub, trip-hop, Mediterranean rhythms, and Asian and Neapolitan melodies in an extremely original and personal way,
Almamegretta soon became one of the most important and influent Italian indie bands, gaining the attention of critics throughout Europe thanks to albums such as Animamigrante (1993), Sanacore (1995), and Lingo (1998) -- and also to a friendship with
Massive Attack, for whom they remixed the title track of the Karmacoma EP. In the meantime, thanks to his unique voice,
Raiz collaborated with artists as diverse as
Pino Daniele,
Leftfield,
Asian Dub Foundation, and
Mauro Pagani. Together with
Bill Laswell and producer
Eraldo Bernocchi he started a project called
Ashes, whose first album, Corpus, was released in 1995. He also acted in Gianluca Sodaro's Sicilian Western Cuore Scatenato (2000) and guested on the soundtrack of Antonio Capuano's Luna Rossa (2001). In 2002, after the release the live album Venite! Venite!,
Raiz left
Almamegretta in order to pursue a solo career. His first record, Wop, followed two years after, co-produced by Roberto Vernetti and former
Almamegretta member Pier Paolo Polcari. Mixing together modern electronics and pop melodies with his typical cosmopolitan attitude and a strong Neapolitan sensibility, it confirmed his status as one of the most original personalities of his generation. In 2006
Ashes returned with
Unisono, and in 2007
Raiz released his sophomore album, Uno, poppier and more polished than his previous effort. ~ Aurelio Pasini