VASCO BRONDI

Biography

Vasco Brondi, born in 1984 and raised between Ferrara and Emilia, became known to the general public through the artistic and musical project Le luci della centrale elettrica.
A project whose first songs took shape in the self-produced demo of the same name in 2007, distributed directly by the artist at concerts. It features ten songs, which immediately reveal original songwriting and a striking expressive power, and for this reason do not go unnoticed. In a small town like Ferrara, where it is hard not to know everyone and impossible not to meet, Vasco Brondi's path crosses that of Giorgio Canali, a disturbed guitarist of CSI and a sui generis musician, rough and radical in his approach. Thus was born Canzoni da spiaggia deturpata, the first album by le luci della centrale elettrica, produced in collaboration with Canali and published by La Tempesta, one of Italy's leading independent labels, created by Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti.
Vasco Brondi's is an eclectic training path, whose strength lies in the merging of different and complementary artistic languages within the evolving technological landscape: music, of course, cinema, comics, video clips, illustration, painting, dance, and writing on one side. Internet, blogs, and the explosion of social networks on the other.
But in truth, far from summarising a decade, the lights of the power station have only just begun their journey.
The close relationship between Vasco Brondi and the world of illustration was reaffirmed at the end of 2012 with the publication of ‘Come le strisce che lasciano gli aerei’ (Coconino Press/Fandango Libri), a graphic novel centred on the encounters of three characters: Micol (whose name pays homage to the protagonist of ‘Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini’, a novel by another renowned Ferrara native, Giorgio Bassani), Rachid the North African, and Rico.
2012 is, otherwise, a year in which Vasco Brondi travels extensively between Europe and the United States, where he moves for a few months, living between New York and San Francisco. Parallel to his travels, he began writing and collecting the ideas that would form the first nucleus of his new work. Once back in Italy, the actual writing phase of the record followed, interrupted only by the three performances of a show entitled "Emilian Chronicles. Electrified Readings, Soundtracks and Photographs," a sort of journey through Emilia that alternates original music, distorted covers and texts by Gianni Celati, Pier Vittorio Tondelli and Luigi Ghirri with the latter's photographs used as set design. The show is also a way of paying homage to his homeland, Emilia, which was hit hard by the earthquake a year earlier, in May 2012.
Costellazioni, the third studio album by Le luci della centrale elettrica, was released on March 4, 2014, featuring artwork by visual artist Gianluigi Toccafondo. In 2015, Brondi co-wrote the song L’estate addosso with Lorenzo “Jovanotti” Cherubini, which became the most-played song on Italian radio that summer.
In April 2016, he published the book Anime galleggianti, dalla pianura al mare passando per i campi (La Nave di Teseo), co-written with Massimo Zamboni. The album Terra followed in March 2017 and was voted among the best albums of the year in the IL (Il Sole 24 Ore) critics’ poll, while the track Chakra was ranked the second-best Italian song of 2017 by Rockit.it.
On September 17, 2018, Brondi announced the single Mistica, released on September 21, which accompanied the double album collection 2008/2018, tra la Via Emilia e la Via Lattea, released on October 5 and featuring two previously unreleased tracks, Mistica and Libera. Shortly afterward, he revealed that this would be the final project under the name Le luci della centrale elettrica, concluding with a farewell theatre tour across Italy.
He returned to live performance in summer 2020 with Talismani per tempi incerti, a show blending songs, poetry, readings, and reflections, later released as a live album in December 2020.
On May 7, 2021, he released Paesaggio dopo la battaglia, which debuted at No. 3 on the Italian album charts. The album was accompanied by two auteur music videos: Chitarra Nera, directed by Daniele Vicari and starring Elio Germano, and Ci abbracciamo, featuring Stefano Accorsi. A remix of the latter, produced by Lorenzo “Jovanotti” Cherubini, was released in June 2021.
On March 15, 2024, Brondi released Un segno di vita, his second album under his own name and his first for independent label Carosello Records, produced by Federico Dragogna and featuring the duet Fuoco dentro with Nada.
The album debuted at No. 7 on the overall album charts and No. 3 in physical formats (CD and vinyl).
It was supported by radio singles Un segno di vita, Incendio, and later Meccanismi featuring Ariete, a digital-only release that was ranked by EarOne as the third most-played independent track on radio during week 38 of 2024.
On the live front, Brondi has received notable recognition, including artistic direction of the special concert Costellazione 25 Aprile for the Municipality of Carpi, and in 2025 a performance in Peccioli for the Festa del Post.