Lovers Audio Mix: Vesto Comodo

March 31, 2025

Italian engineer and artist Alberto Gianelli, better known as Vesto Comodo, has been building a reputation for his hypnotic hardware sets. His debut album Traces explores the blurred boundary between organic and artificial intelligence, using the live improvisations he's known for. When Alberto’s not conjuring machines to make music, he’s building instruments for Teenage Engineering. In our discussion, we chat about his introduction to dance music as a youngster in Italy, his approach to music-making, and his tips for raving in Stockholm. Alberto was also kind enough to provide us with a recording of his recent set at Soho House for our Lovers Audio Mix Series.

Lovers Audio: Hi Alberto, how are you, and what are you currently up to?

Vesto Comodo: I’m really good, thank you! I’m currently deep in the Swedish winter, focusing on my record release and promotion. Hopefully, I’ll have some extra energy soon to turn the synths back on.

Lovers Audio: Creativity certainly comes in waves. Mental health can have a huge impact and Seasonal Affective Disorder is a very real thing. I imagine the short days of the long winter in Sweden can be challenging. Do you have any advice for folks struggling with productivity or creativity? Do you have a ritual when you sit down to write music?

Vesto Comodo: Living in Sweden I know what you are talking about, it gets quite dark and boring here for a good amount of months. I try to use these months to focus on my projects and be productive. Sometimes it requires some tranquillity and to make your ground fertile for creativity. I struggle with those things myself, personally I try to create the environment for creativity to come to me, rather than force it. If something interests you, dig deeper, and talk about it with someone. If there is a philosophy you like, or a book or movie that is meaningful to you, don't leave it there and try to understand what you actually like about it. That can be the core of your next work. I am one of those people that think that 80% of being productive and creative happens in your mind, almost like you are setting an environment most of the time, and then everything is ready (in your mind and in your setup) to let it out. I make music in bursts so the synths can be off 6 months a year and on all the time for the other 6 months.

Lovers Audio: You just released your debut album ‘Traces’, Can you tell us about the inspirations and recording process for this album?

Vesto Comodo: I wanted to make something authentic, something that came from within. This album is the result of a long internal journey—searching for purpose and reflecting on the future. Rick Rubin’s book The Creative Act helped me gain the focus I needed to bring it all together. For inspiration, I imagined a future completely overtaken by technology, where this record is discovered by robots and kept as proof of human existence. I worked a lot with drum samples, which I chopped on the OP-1 Field drum sampler and processed through my trusty Revox A77 reel-to-reel tape recorder. I also recorded a session with some talented friends who improvised piano and flute parts over my beats, giving me beautiful material to work with. I captured those performances with the Teenage Engineering CM-15 condenser mic—a microphone I developed over three years at the company. It was a full-circle moment, charged with a lot of meaning and energy.

Lovers Audio: 'Traces' features some very distinct reverb, can you tell us more about the spaces you recorded in and what is unique about the TE CM-15?

Vesto Comodo: You can hear different reverbs for different tracks. The piano was recorded with a pair of CM-15 and they are placed quite close to the piano but not inside, so you can hear some room. The big reverb work was made in the mixing phase. We used the 3 reverbs technique to create dimensionality: 1 short reverb, 1 medium, 1 long. It is a really nice technique to give a complex dimension to the sound. This is a trick I learned from my friend the mix engineer Filippo Samore.

Photo: Nils Hidemark Plays Piano

Lovers Audio: Your website bio says you fell in love with electronic music at age 15. How were you introduced to electronic music? What were some of the records you were listening to back then?

Vesto Comodo: That moment happened at Club 178 in Sanremo. It was the only spot in Western Liguria throwing underground parties. No security, very DIY, with a huge HUGE sound system with stacks on the floor. When I stepped into the sweet spot on the dancefloor, I turned to my friends like WOW — totally entranced by the sub-bass [laughs]. Marcel Dettmann was playing, and it was just incredible. My dad picked us up at 3 a.m. that night since it was about a 30-minute drive from my hometown, and we were too young to pull an all-nighter. Back then, I was listening to a lot of M_nus Records: Gaiser, Magda, Ambivalent, Richie Hawtin, Marc Houle... all that minimal stuff. Then some Detroit stuff, but that came later. Also Ilario Alicante and Sven Väth. It was classic to share an iPod earbud on the bus to school and discover new artists. Over time, we got deeper into the different subgenres and learned about everyone in the game.

Lovers Audio: What was the music scene like in Andora, Italy when you were growing up?

Vesto Comodo: Andora is a summer town. In the winter, it has around 7,000 residents, but in the summer it can easily have 10 times as many people. When I was a teenager mainstream EDM dominated, and we hated it. We wanted to be different and were curious about techno. Riviera Gang Crew was the only group throwing underground parties. Back then, there was La Capannina in Alassio, Il Porto in Laigueglia, and of course Club 178 in Sanremo. They brought in the Ostgut Ton crew: Dettmann, Klock, Nick Höppner is a personal favorite, The Analogue Cops, Onur Özer, Steffi, and some Italian DJs like Fabrizio Maurizi, Ralf, and Paolo Kighine. Looking back, the underground scene was rare, but it thrived for a good 10 years.

Lovers Audio: You’re now based in Stockholm, Sweden, how are you enjoying the scene there? Which parties and clubs should folks check out when they visit Stockholm?

Vesto Comodo: I have mixed feelings to be honest. Before COVID, it was quite amazing. The first week I moved here in 2018, I ended up at a forest rave with John Talabot—definitely one of the best nights of my life. Love Potion was the best house night. Mmmmm and Bronx Sauna were great for techno and had that gritty warehouse vibe. They felt like home—super inclusive, with amazing guests and local DJs. After COVID, things changed. Many places shut down, and the scene became more monopolized by two big clubs in the winter, with only occasional warehouse parties. In summer, there are still forest raves, but the quality has dropped. The experimental scene is strong but also struggling...Or maybe I’m just getting old! Still, there are some good spots: Hosoi Festival in the summer is great for world music, ambient, and electronic sets. Fylkingen is an experimental music center, now moving to a new location. Skaiv is an independent venue with experimental gigs, located under a church. Neu has the best sound system, but the vibe can be hit or miss. Trädgården/Under Bron is the biggest club with the biggest bookings, though I’ve had some negative experiences there. I only go if there’s an artist I really want to see. In summer and winter, Stilio parties are worth checking out. PLX is an awesome festival in an Island in south of Sweden, and also the longeve Norberg Festival, is a must go.

Lovers Audio: Us folks at Lovers Audio have definitely experienced our fair share of poor etiquette from both clubs and party goers. We noticed no one is really educating the masses on what makes a great night and how to behave at a party. What do you think makes a great party environment and what are your dos and don'ts for ravers?

Vesto Comodo: Sometimes we forget you as a dancer are an important piece of the party puzzle. There is no party without a dance floor, so when you step into one think about that! dance like no one is watching, take just a quick picture or video of the dj if you really want, dance with the people you are next to! It can also be that you don't like the music or don't feel it and that's ok, but then notice that and cultivate your taste, listen to a dj that you like more!

Photo: Isak Hedtjärn records flute.

Lovers Audio: You have a masters in electrical engineering and currently work for Teenage Engineering, how has music influenced your approach to engineering, and how has engineering impacted your approach to music?

Vesto Comodo: I wanted to be around music, and working at Teenage Engineering was kind of a sweet spot for me. I have studied engineering to make synths. I was fascinated by the concept of electronic sound: how is it possible that sound comes out of a box that you plug into the wall? I mean I understood how sounds came out of a guitar, you stroke the string, the string vibrates, bla bla bla, but how the hell do you make a kick drum? What is that? And there starts my electronic engineering journey. I generally try to keep separate work and music, even if sometimes there are unavoidable overlap. Engineering does not inspire me to make music, but using machines does inspire me to wanting to make new ones.

Lovers Audio: The live recording you’ve provided us with is quite impressive. Can you tell us more about this set?

Vesto Comodo: Thank you! I have used The OP-XY from teenage engineering for most of it, plus a modular bass line triggered with the Precision Disrupter sequencer ( fun fact i also contributed in making both devices). Usually my live sets change, depending on what’s in my machines. Only a small percentage of the material I perform live becomes full on tracks though.

Lovers Audio: What gear did you use for this performance? Can you share any secret tricks for fellow artists?

Vesto Comodo: A not-so-secret trick for a good sounding live is to have a compressor on the master, and soundcheck the most you can. I usually try it a few times before, and write some notes on each track in a notebook, but I leave some room for improvisation and the unknown. When I play live I am locked in completely for 1 hour. I don't even look at the crowd. I go on a journey. Another one is to bring the right amount of gear: less is more - echo and reverbs are your friends, old school mixers are fun to use and fun to watch being used! Acid basslines and mid-focused bass work well on most sound systems, even the shittiest.

Lovers Audio: Who are some artists you’re excited to follow right now?

Vesto Comodo: Definitely the duo Phattness is to keep an eye on, I am curious if they will continue the exploration of this genre or will move to something else. Legowelt, always. I am often on his website and listen to what he does. Sansibar, my favorite recent producer. Alberta Balsam, Sweater On Polo, Tom Caruther are doing cool stuff. And my friend and legend Marco Passarani, who also mentored me across this album, who I immensely respect and recently released his Studiomaster series on vinyl. Agnese Menguzzato is another friend and super talented composer. The label Subject to Restriction Discs of Domnik Andre has shown consistent quality releases in these past years.