I Dream of Space Music

Imagine a huge open book, or CD cover, with light shining out of it, with ideas of Life and the Universe flying out and around it... As if somebody found the ultimate Open Book to find the Discovery of Meaning.

Or perhaps a Universal Time Clock/Pocket Watch instead of a CD...

Discover why some people fall in love with Mattson Mini Modular systems and why their relentless, fanatical passion for them has made modular synthesizers more intriguing than ever. All of the music on the new album Discovery of Meaning, which can be found on the Spotted Peccary label, was composed, performed, recorded, and produced by Craig Padilla using a variety of analog, digital, and modular synthesizers, sequencers, and field recordings, with vocals by Paula Franke, Melodee Padilla, and Harmonee Padilla.

What is “meaning”? Let us turn to the scholars. Quoting from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: "Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try to be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations."

Now let us turn to the composer, Craig Padilla. In his own words, "Discovery of Meaning is about the concept of experiencing life in the present moment and beyond: The birth, the now, the future, and everything in the Universe is affected by the meaning of its own existence. It's a continuous discovery that we humans learn by living life through our own space/time continuum. Throughout our childhood and our adulthood, we are constantly learning the meaning of new things, the meaning of relationships, the discovery of health, the meaning of intuition, and realizing the pros and cons of surrounding ourselves with positive (and negative) energy. To be a child, to be a parent, and to be a child again. Time and space, stars, planets, cells, atoms, souls, everything has a meaning of its reason for being here. We are connected beyond ourselves. We are one with Time and Space. And that's a concept we learn once we experience the Discovery of Meaning.”

He continues, "The music on this album has been another natural evolution of my own musical experience. It combines elements of electronica, trance, new age, drone, ambient, and cosmic space music. And almost every track uses a synth built by George Mattson (MST/Division 6 Modular Synth and Mattson Mini Modular Synth)."

George Mattson is universally credited with the invention of the Syntar, the first fully self-contained "keytar", in 1978, and is founder and owner of his enterprise, Mattson Mini Modular. The idea for the Mattson Mini Modular began as a challenge, with size and portability a priority. The first Mattson Mini Modular system was introduced to the world on September 15, 2007.

Discovery of Meaning was inspired by Padilla's daughters, as well as some new music that they were hearing, particularly Porter Robison, Jon Hopkins, and fellow Spotted Peccary artist DeeperNET. The project began life at the end of 2019 just prior to the COVID pandemic, and was completed during the shutdown of the world in 2020. He tells us, "This album is an influence of my living situation in 2019, spending a Summer and Fall in my Oregon home with my soulmate brother Howard Givens and my actual home in California with my children Melodee and Harmonee Padilla and soulmate companion Colleen Roady. During this time, my Northern California home had ‘adopted’ a foreign exchange student from Germany, Paula Franke (no relation to the former Tangerine Dream member). She lived with us because she and my daughters were all studying music in high school."

While in Portland, he was finishing an album with Howard Givens (The Bodhi Mantra) and working part-time at a modular synthesizer shop where he was learning more about modular synthesizer techniques, as well as being exposed to more electronic music around the Portland area. He had also purchased some new music gear which helped to set the music in motion. This Portland energy, and the energy of the sudden onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, was hugely influential for the music he was creating for this new album.

"I've always wanted to create a piece of music that included the beautiful voices of my daughters. And now that I had another ‘daughter’ in our house from Germany, I knew it would be great to try to record a song that featured all three girls. I thought it would be cool to have Paula record something with me because I thought that it would be a very unique experience for her while visiting the USA.” And he realized that it would be extra cool for his daughters to be involved with the project since all three of them hadn't ever before participated in a project like this.

Suddenly, Paula's trip in the USA was cut short due to the pandemic, and she knew that she had to go back home to Germany. Due to the uncertainty of the events of the world, she had no idea when she was going to be on a plane other than it would be at a moment's notice.

At that time, Chuck van Zyl had commissioned a track from Padilla with the concept of what artists were doing to stay sane and healthy during the sudden change of events in the world.

Chuck van Zyl has been making his own unique style of electronic music since 1983 with a tone that veers from synthesized and atmospheric, to the reckless energized pulse of tumbling sequencer patterns, on down to a somber interiority - moving between the three in an impressive aural narrative. van Zyl is best known as a host of STAR'S END which is WXPN's renowned radio program of space music dreamscapes, and as coordinator of The Gatherings, Philadelphia's premiere concert series of innovative music.

Padilla decided to be extra proactive and finish work on "Continuum", a track that would include both German and English spoken words about the concept of "Time" ("Zeit").

"I came up with a written concept, Paula translated the words into the German language, she recorded her words, Harmonee and Melodee Padilla improvised some musical vocal passages into the music, and the rest is history. I couldn't ask for a greater opportunity than that. The experience was extremely positive for all of us!"

Human knowledge comes from human observation, experimentation, and rational analysis, and possibly from supernatural sources; the nature of the universe is what people discern it to be. According to naturalistic pantheism, the meaning of life is to care for and look after nature and the environment. I like that.

Some have suggested the existence of a cosmic consciousness, and we are here to gain knowledge and experience and to have joy. Different generations may have different experiences at similar points in their own time-lines. Origins and the ultimate fate of the universe are an ancient and universal mystery, imagine a tunnel of light and spiritual figures, often described in reports of near-death experiences. Awareness of environmental elements through physical sensation might cause you to make meaning of what you perceive. Take a moment to think of all the things you perceive on a daily basis. The recognition stage is an essential part of perception since it allows you to make sense of the world around you. Music can remind you to always try to pay attention, and to practice mindfulness. Perception requires you to attend to the world around you.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Why are we here? What is life all about? What is the purpose of existence? The evaluation of meaning, whether by a single person or an entire society, are human products. Answering any of those questions leads to territory that has nothing to do with our task at hand here today, what about the music?

Electronic inner space journeys using the magic of music unlock a quest into the colorful regions of the cosmos inside, blending the far distances with the infinite interior spaces, frequently evoking the neural processing of vision as well as hearing, creating marvelous audio sensations of spatial locations relative to the listener.

It has been said that a definition of the "Berlin School" style of music stems from the early German music pioneers who specialized in electronic music using sequencers that would play repeating music patterns, originated in the early ‘70s by Asha Ra Temple, Tangerine Dream, and Klaus Schulze. I recommend, for further exploration and historical context, an essay found on the website of the BrainVoyager radio show and cosmic enterprise, on the story of electronic music.

The album Discovery of Meaning touches on the power of freedom and of being able to reach out and touch whatever is coming next, exploring the passions, obsessions, dreams and developments in technology, science, modern art and the chaotic universal tumult constantly surrounding us.

The first track, "Perception Stream" (12:26) eases in with grace and mystery, establishing weird tones and forms floating about cautiously. There is a flute-like synthesizer solo which is amazing. Padilla reveals: "’Perception Stream’ was finalized when I had invited my friend, Rick L. Nixon, into my studio to contribute a synth track. His flute-like synth performance was just what I needed to help finish this song, which I think sounds fantastic!"

The equipment: AKAI MPC-Live, Arturia MatrixBrute, MST/Division 6 Modular, and Yamaha Montage.

The beat picks up a little more and there is kinetic boogie action in more places; "Discovery of Meaning" (4:26) is the second track. Again, from the maestro, "I wanted to do another melodic tune in the style of some of the music on ‘The Heart of the Soul’ but with influences from Porter Robison, Jon Hopkins, and fellow Spotted Peccary artist DeeperNET. That song is the title track ‘Discovery of Meaning.’ It has such an accessible vibe, but then it gets very aggressive with upbeat energy and percussive sounds before it suddenly subsides back into how it started."

Gear: Akai MPC-Live, Yamaha Montage, and Arturia MatrixBrute.

A continuum is a continuous extent, series, or whole; something that keeps on going, changing slowly over time. The two tracks (parts 1 and 2), together titled "Continuum” were commissioned by Chuck van Zyl for a special program on Star's End Radio. Here are a few quotes from Chuck van Zyl:

"I am moved and overwhelmed by all the music. I listened to ‘Continuum,’ which I just wanted to skim, but wound up in its spell and before I knew it I had listened to the whole thing (I did not want it to end). With ‘Continuum’ you guys have achieved something rare... a new sound, a new atmosphere, I almost do not know how to absorb this new music as it reaches to such a personal space. Paula, Harmonee & Melodee are a wonder! Captivating! The music sounds like CP (Craig Padilla), but maybe after you've spent a night in some other better reality."

"Continuum, Part 1" (5:13)

Continuum Part One features the Akai MPC-Live, Yamaha Montage, Vocals, MST/Division 6 Modular with Paula Franke, spoken words and the German language translation on ‘Continuum, Part 1’ and Harmonee Padilla, who can be heard providing vocals on both Continuum Part 1 and Part 2.

Here is the heart of the text, first in German, next in English.

CONTINUUM

1. Ereignis

Der punkt oder zeitraum wenn etwas eintritt

2. Fortbestehen

Der gemessene oder messbare zeitraum während dessen eine handlung, ein vorgang oder ein zustand existiert oder andauert

3. Zeit

Der unbestimmte andauernde verlauf vom bestechen und von ereignissen der vergangenheit, der gegenwart und der zukunft als ganzes betrachtet

4. Zeit verhindert dass alles auf einmal passiert.

5. Zeit steht still, jedoch gleitet sie uns durch unsere auffassung.

6. Zeit ist unsere unheilbare krankheit.

7. Unsere anwesenheit in Zeit und Raum bewegt sich vorwärts. Erwäge jetzt die unendliche weite des Universums und das Raum-Zeit Kontinuum. Es gibt keine eindeutige richtung in die Zeit im Universum geht. Es gibt keine vergangenheit, gegenwart und zukunft, es gibt nur das jetzt.

8. Wir waren hier zuvor.

9. Wir waren hier für immer.

Now, as promised, in English:

1. Occasion

The point or period when something occurs

2. Duration

The measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues

3. Time

The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole

4. Time prevents everything happening at once.

5. Time stands still, yet slips through our grasp.

6. Time is our uncurable decease (sic).

7. Our presence in time and space moves forward. Now consider the infinite vastness of the Cosmos and the Spacetime Continuum. There is no finite direction in the Universe for time to travel. There is no past, present, and future; there is only the NOW.

8. We have been here before.

9. We have been here all of the TIME.

"Continuum, Part 2" (10:20)

And now you can imagine how this music found its way into a spiritual realm. Consciousness, like spacetime, might have its own intrinsic degrees of freedom, and that one's perceptions may be as real as (or even more real than) material objects, experience gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes, often encompassing a number of extra dimensions.

Harmonee Padilla and Melodee Padilla: Vocals on Continuum Part 2, with Papa Craig performing on Akai MPC-Live, Yamaha Montage, Vocals, MST/Division 6 Modular, and Arturia MatrixBrute.

Now again we visit a new track that sometimes sounds to me to be haunted by the faintest sampled vocal hues, quite slow and dreamy, exquisitely layered, consisting of imaginable objects of sensation and the very unimaginable objects of reflection.

"Adrift in Memory" (6:21)

Adrift in Memory was inspired by Craig's brother, Tim Barrett, who hung out with him in the studio while he was creating this song. "It is a fitting tribute to the memory of my Dad (Dan Padilla) as well as the memory of my brother witnessing my recording session... I remember playing this track while driving by his former home and suddenly I got hit with a flood of great memories. Hence, the title. It's a play on memories of my Father and the fact that my youngest brother hung out with me while I created the tune. Great memories indeed!"

Hardware: Akai MPC-Live, Yamaha Montage, and MST/Division 6 Modular

Each idea is understood to be necessarily about something external and/or internal, real or imaginary. Memories evoke a private language, consider the nature of signs the mind makes use of for the understanding of things, or conveying its knowledge to others. "Cottonwood" (20:48) is a sound collage with electronica and field recordings, beginning with summer birds, blending into a meditation about how organisms make predictions about, and adapt to, signs that occur in the world of nature, and symbols in the world of culture. I hear a throbbing cosmic machine with constantly changing color overlays.

The composer expands: "Cottonwood" was inspired by the environment around my home. I had a handheld digital audio recorder and wanted to experiment with how well it recorded sounds. (This device was a very sensitive recorder. I swear that it could record a sneeze from a gnat.) One day around my home in Cottonwood, California, I had recorded some natural environmental sounds in my backyard. You can hear a breeze moving some wooden windchimes, and some birds in the trees. In the evening, I went into the front yard to record the sounds of frogs and crickets. I loved the way the recordings sounded, and I got inspired to make a piece of music with them. I added some organic electronic textures and sequences from my MST/Division 6 Modular synthesizer (created by George Mattson, inventor of the Syntar, the world's first keytar/portable synth) and the track ‘Cottonwood’ was born. The overall vibe of the music was also inspired by the meditation sessions I was experiencing while I was in Portland with Howard Givens where he was playing meditative music by David Parsons.

The gear: Akai MPC-Live, MST/Division 6 Modular, Arturia MatrixBrute, and Yamaha Montage, with those sampled field recordings.

"Festive Awakening" (12:02) was commissioned by Chuck van Zyl for another special edition of Star's End Radio. Padilla had recorded this song using a handful of synthesizers (including the Mattson Mini Modular and Arp 2600) in the living room of his best friend and soulmate, Colleen Roady. This song is inspired by and dedicated to the power of love. Listening, I am aware that the scale has gotten enormous, a blend of images, effects, sounds, words, and kinesthetic sensations emerging from the dream. All that can fall within the compass of human understanding, textual mediums that utilize time with visual mediums that utilize space, with some familiar sensations, I can see some ordinary satellites and meteors. When we consider human language expressions, we immediately understand that their reference is vague, in the sense that they can be used to denote many things.

"It's a celebration of positive connections and awakening of one's soul. I've been saving this song to be released on the right album, and Discovery of Meaning was the perfect album to include this melodious track." Thus from Padilla himself.

Equipment: Division 6 Mattson SQ816 Modular Sequencer, Mattson Mini Modular, Novation UltraNova, ARP 2600, and Camel Audio Alchemy.

After asking himself if he is ready to go further on this journey, the reply is an eventual yes and he commands the anchor to be lifted. While the voyage might seem like a terrifying one, we are protected by our own confidence. The meaning of meaning, here on this singular album, engages with themes that include exploration, expansion, and the future. You and you alone are responsible for deciding what "meaning" might lead you to, you might consider the kind of life you want to live, and what constitutes a significant and worthwhile life goal. This involves achieving eudaimonia, usually translated as "happiness", "well-being", "flourishing", and "excellence."

The meaning of life, the significance, purpose, or worth of human existence, meanwhile, sleepers and the shadows own unknowable darkness and is nothing if not the place from which the present grows. I hear distinct celestial bodies, and believe that this indeed is the perfect space music. It is a metaphor for the larger world of possibilities that opens up as humanity expands its capabilities and the desire to look into the past. Padilla is interested in the future, the past, what lies ahead for the human race, and all of time that humanity has left behind. In short, the goal is to realize the fundamental truth about oneself. Do you know the meaning of 42 and wherefore it arrives?

In 1986 Craig shifted from electric guitar into the worlds of electronica and synthesizers. In 1989 he was attending Shasta College and was involved with the theatrical department. The head of the theater department, Robert Soffian (who now resides doing visual art in southern California), gave him the opportunity to create music and sound effects for some theatrical plays. There was an Arp 2600 and some reel-to-reel tape machines in the soundbooth where he would stay the night many nights working on music with the Arp and his own synths until the early morning, constantly learning to create original electronic music (using many old recycled tapes) and inventing his own ways to use the equipment. The tracks from The Heart of the Galaxy (1990) are a result from the many hours of experimentation while being locked away in the Shasta College Theatre soundbooth. From there he began an amazing career creating music of many kinds, including soundtracks for movies such as Dark Woods, Phobias, Realms of Blood, and The Legend of Buffalo Calf Girl, also sounds for the game Space Cruesader, and various games on Sega and PlayStation, commercials and of course, a multiverse of albums on a wide range of labels, check Padilla's bandcamp link for a partial discography.

The music tells of how exploration runs like a rivulet through time. It sinks and rises but is always there. The regions of deep space and strange soundscapes are meant to be crossed and the distant brought near. The rest is history.