Figures of Absence is an Italian experimental trio featuring vocal artist and electronics player Barbara De Dominicis, electronics player Cristian Maddalena, and guitarist and electronics player (and visual artist) Elio Martusciello. It is a project that explores the unconscious mind in real-time, spontaneous performances. The trio’s self-titled debut album was recorded live at The Folderol Studios in Rome in February 2024 and features the 28-minute self-titled piece.
This cinematic, dream-like, spontaneous piece, “F.O.A”, was inspired by Dore O.’s cinematic poetics, comprising flickering reels, sudden disappearances and reappearances, and her quote: “Lightning strikes the oblong of dreams out of the darkness”. This piece suggests an imaginary, almost unconscious inner monologue that searches for amplified perception, oscillating between hypnosis and clarity.
This piece is an intense, thought-provoking, open-ended emotional investigation that employs De Dominicis’ sensual yet tortured vocals, with a delivery reminiscent of American vocal artist Shelley Hirsch, Maddalena’s noisy and spiky electronics, and Martusciello’s atmospheric, effects-laden guitar. Figures of Absence suggests an evocative and unpredictable interplay of memory and introspection, which revisits constantly shifting memories and feelings.
Video artist Antonio Pietranni interpreted Figures of Absence’s arresting sonic journey with a video: https://youtu.be/OE2imIsLHYI?
Figures of Absence – Figures of Absence (Folderol, 2025)
Here Figures of Absence live at Metro Core (Rome) – April 12, 2025
