Voices #25
◦ “voices” is the place where we ask, artists reply and you read.
here we got:
Paul Padilla
answering some questions. We have already observed his ambient / electronic work here.
[1. IDEA]
■ The A. O.: The track from “Absent” that we prefer is “Chloral Suicide”. Can you tell us how it came to light?
► Paul Padilla: I was messing around on a Moog Subharmonicon, a fun and chaotic semi-modular synthesizer. Once I got the sequence that’s heard in the track, I decided to record it, which I did, while haphazardly patching a lot of random parameters to each other. That’s where a lot of the stutters and detuned notes come from. After I had the recording on my computer, I manipulated it in a few different directions and layered the results. The final track became an interflow of the original recording with its mangled counterparts. I still don’t even really know what key it’s in.
[2. CREATION]
■ The A. O.: How do you usually approach composition? Do you start with a concept, a sound, a state of mind or what else? How do you generally proceed from the initial seed to the complete work?
► Paul Padilla: It’s difficult to give just one answer. Almost all of my ideas, in their earliest stages, come from listening to music — virtually any genre of it. Sometimes I’ll hear a sound I really like. I might try to emulate it, only to fail. In the process, though, I’ve made something unique that I can build off of. Other times I’ll hear a track and feel something really special. I’ll sit down and chase that emotion in whatever way I can. Once the initial idea is somewhat materialized, I try to elaborate on it by letting it lead me. Feeling what a track wants to do, or where an idea wants to go, is a crucial skill for me.
[3. FEEDBACK]
■ The A. O.: What do you hope listeners feel or experience when engaging with your music?
► Paul Padilla: I think the listening experience is completely subjective, so I want to avoid influencing the way a listener interprets my music. Generally speaking, I hope for a deep level of engagement and understanding between my music and its listener.
[4. IDENTITY]
■ The A. O.: In a world saturated with digital music content, how do you try to keep your sound distinct and personally meaningful?
► Paul Padilla: Electronic music presents endless possibilities. I don’t find it difficult to maintain a unique sound — any form of experimentation on a computer can give you a sound no one has ever dreamt of. The difficulty lies in making it meaningful. Spending hours on the same three or four minutes of a track and eventually finding a connection with the sound is where I find meaning. However, there’s no guarantee that spending enough time on a track will make it meaningful. I have far more scrapped ideas and tracks than completed ones, as I imagine many artists do.
[5. INFLUENCES]
■ The A. O.: Mention 3 albums that you consider relevant to your musical path and why.
► Paul Padilla: ○ Aphex Twin – Drukqs
This album is likely the most important I’ve ever heard. I was 13 when I heard “Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount” in my brother’s car. It kind of froze me, and for a humiliatingly long time I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s not an understatement to say it changed my life.
○ Bark Psychosis – Hex
If I’m not mistaken, the term ‘post-rock’ was coined from a review of this album. I think this record is stunning, beautiful, and incredibly atmospheric. Though it’s far from being purely electronic, it’s certainly one of the most influential albums for me. It creates such a vivid sense of space in a radically distinctive way, unlike almost anything else I’ve listened to.
○ Animal Collective – Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished
Similarly to Drukqs, my brother introduced me to this at a young age, and it’s never left my mind. Of all of the wonderful things in AnCo’s discography, this one will always rank the highest for me. It’s one of the rawest albums I’ve ever listened to, everything they wanted to say was put on full display. Their use of noise as an instrument left a lasting mark on me.
[6. REGARDS]
■ The A. O.: Leave us with a quote you love.
► Paul Padilla: “To think new thoughts you have to break the bones in your head” (Jean-Paul Sartre)