Tommaso Ottomano is a singer-songwriter, director, composer, record producer, artistic director and sound designer whose work explores the intersection of music and cinema. Topo Nero Rock is his solo singer-songwriter project, born from an alter ego he has carried with him since 2007, when he was first called by that name at the age of seventeen. Through Topo Nero Rock, he explores common insecurities and feelings of inadequacy, along with everything uncomfortable we would rather let flow into our own “inner sewer”. He does so through a style that blends the stripped-back, gritty rock of the ’90s with the light-hearted pop spirit of ’60s Italian songwriting, looking at the world from below, through the eyes of an animal that is both repellent and utterly endearing.

In 2024, he joined the Sugar Music Publishing roster as a songwriter. For over a decade, he has collaborated with Lucio Corsi as a producer, composer and art director. In 2025, he accompanied Corsi on stage at the Sanremo Music Festival with Volevo essere un duro, which they co-wrote and which was certified platinum, and directed La Chitarra nella Roccia, a concert film presented at the Rome Film Fest. In 2026, he created Lezioni D’abisso, his latest video artwork, in collaboration with Casa Museo Molinario Colombari, where it is on permanent display. Since 2021, he has also worked alongside Chiello, taking part in the Sanremo Music Festival as a co-writer of Ti penso sempre.

As a director, he has created experimental music videos for Måneskin, Jovanotti, Baustelle, Lucio Corsi and Chiello, and has twice been named “Director of the Year” at the Videoclip Music Awards. He has produced advertising campaigns for Prada, Gucci, Versace, Dior, Armani, Bulgari and Moncler, also overseeing their sound design. He is also the creator of PAURA, a series of original short films paying tribute to ’70s Italian horror cinema, made with CAM Sugar and distributed by MUBI.

Cerco una ragazza, disperatamente, the project’s debut single, will be released on November 6, 2026. It is preceded by a trailer directed by and starring Ottomano himself, who takes on both roles for the first time and conceived it as a short film. At its heart is his alter ego: a cartoon mouse that pays homage to the aesthetic of classic animation, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit to Volere volare, entirely hand-drawn by Simone Pratola and voiced by Francis Delacroix.