Craig Padilla: Discovery of Meaning
Spotted Peccary

Numerous elements come together on Discovery of Meaning, Craig Padilla's seventh solo release on Spotted Peccary: his early appreciation for the music of Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and other pioneering ambient-electronic artists is reflected in the recording's material; time spent working at a modular synthesizer shop in Oregon and refining his command of modular techniques also had a direct impact; and his Cottonwood, California home environment also exerted an influence. All such aspects played pivotal parts in determining the sound design and style of the seven productions presented on the release.

As important, however, is the impact of the 2020 lockdown and the state of mind it engendered within him during the writing and production stages. As the album and track titles and text in the release booklet indicate, much of the project's thematic focus has to do with time, memory, duration, reflection, and perception. The meaning alluded to by the album title has to do with recognizing the value of living in the present and appreciating the richness of experience being in time affords. To translate such philosophical concerns into sound, Padilla augmented his customary arsenal of vintage analog and modern digital synthesizers with the MST/Division 6 Modular Synth and Mattson Mini Modular Synth.

Structurally, Discovery of Meaning boasts a satisfying shape in coupling long excursions with concise statements. While two twelve-minute settings bookend the release, the coup de grace is the penultimate piece, a wholly immersive, twenty-one-minute soundscape titled “Cottonwood.” A personal dimension moves explicitly to the fore during the two-part soundscape “Continuum” when wordless vocals by Padilla's daughters and the speaking voice (in English and German) of Paula Franke, a foreign exchange student from Germany, are heard alongside the meditative musical material. After Franke recites the time-related text from the booklet during the first part, “Continuum, Part 2” undergirds the voices of Harmonee and Melodee with a modular-rich backdrop that expands and contracts incessantly for ten minutes.

It takes mere seconds for the synthesizer-drenched soundworld of the album to declare itself when modular textures generate a gently swirling pool in “Perception Stream” and a pulsating rhythm surges dynamically to infuse the music with radiance and grandeur. Not the only time it happens on the recording, Padilla's material here calls to mind the glorious era when Schulze and Tangerine Dream first began gaining worldwide recognition. Whereas the opener hurtles forth with the greatest intensity, the sweetly melodic title track burbles blissfully before it too picks up steam with a swelling muscular groove. A personal dimension also emerges in “Cottonwood” in the form of field recording details captured at Padilla's backyard. Bird and insect chirps contribute an understated complement to the slowly awakening soundscape whose cosmic tone's offset by the earth-based elements. Nature sounds aside, “Cottonwood” is the album track whose expansive sound design and compositional style perhaps most calls to mind Tangerine Dream during its early ‘80s period. The closing “Festive Awakening,” on the other hand, could pass for a Kraftwerk homage when it's powered by a motorik, “Autobahn”-styled beat, singing melodies, and twinkles so rapturously.

Needless to say, it's all crafted with the greatest skill and sophistication by Padilla, though that shouldn't come as a surprise when the man's got so many years of experience as an ambient-electronic practitioner to his name. He's the kind of seasoned producer whose highly developed skillset enables him to bring his musical concepts to their fullest realization without seemingly breaking a sweat. As consistently strong as Discovery of Meaning is, to these ears “Cottonwood” and “Festive Awakening” recommend the album most.

April 2022