Natalie Padilla

New album “E O S T R E”

Released April 22, 2025 Earth Day

Since this is an instrumental album and the titles are likely unfamiliar, I thought I’d tell you a bit more about the project. After making my previous album Montana Wildflower, I knew I wanted to work with Quinn Bachand again, he’s one of those musicians and producers that just knows what you want and then adds their own unique twist that blows your mind. The opportunity arose when we were awarded a partial funding grant from Creative BC, meant for non-BC residents to travel to British Columbia to record an album with Canadian musicians and artists. My goal was to make an instrumental album that was a cohesive work, more like a symphony with separate movements. I chose forests as a theme because for me they are an inspirational demonstration of how so many species can live amongst one another in a peaceful, vibrant and supportive way. The album and track titles are named after nature deities related to forests from multiple cultures, Eostre being the Germanic goddess of the dawn and radiant light. Nearly all the music was written after the album was conceptualized and recording dates were set. So, last November I flew to Canada and treated myself to 10 days of recording in Quinn’s home studio in Victoria, on most days we took breaks to visit the local forests and record nature sounds, which can be heard throughout the album. Here are the specs: 

Music written by Natalie Padilla
Arranged by Natalie Padilla & Quinn Bachand
Production, Engineering and Mixing, Quinn Bachand
Mastering, Jonathan Anderson
Design & photography, Béatrix Méthé
Fiddle, banjo, guitar (4, 5), Natalie Padilla
Guitar, harmonica (6,7), fiddle (7), Quinn Bachand
Vocals (1,2), Béatrix Méthé
Piano (6,7), Daniel Lapp
Dulcimer (5,8), Simon Chrisman

Wonders of the forest are endless, ancient cultures have been inspired and humbled by their power, journeys met with surprise and often found not alone…Eostre, Germanic goddess of the dawn and radiant light, Terra, Roman goddess of the earth - Vayu, Hindu god of wind and air - Agni, Hindu god of fire - Areg, Armenian god of the sun - Simbi, Kongo and Hoodoo spirit of water and forest - Aja, Yoruba goddess and patron of forest animals and healers - Ngen, Mapuche spirits and protectors of nature - Tala, Philippine goddess of the morning and evening stars - Flora, Roman goddess of flowers and spring

This album is dedicated to Mooshi
Supported by Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia

CDs for Sale! Eostre and also a belated printing of Montana Wildflower w/ Going Going Gone. $20 each plus 5 for US shipping

GOING GOING GONE

“Light to Dark” oil painting by Easthampton, MA artist Laura Radwell, the perfect cover art for Going Going Gone, single released June 20, 2024. It’s a ballad, written on the summer solstice of 2023, about creating space for new beginnings and following instincts. Canadian multi-instrumentalist Quinn Bachand produced, engineered and mixed, mastering by Trevor Buckingham.

MONTANA WILDFLOWER

Montana Wildflower is my third album of original folk music, it’s an instrumental celtic fiddle album with a touch of oldtime. Each original tune was named after a wildflower found in Montana (where I’m from!). Released March 2023, recorded in Victor, ID, engineered and mixed by Quinn Bachand, mastered by Charles-Émile Beaudin, photo and artwork by Catherine Young.

Reviews for Montana Wildflower

“…it was her album of fiddle compositions, Montana Wildflower, that I kept coming back to again and again this year. Beautifully recorded, she fiddles with an intensity that belies how carefully each note is laid on the neck of the instrument. But she’s also a great tune composer. Instrumental dance tunes are usually learned and taught by ear, passed down from olden times, and though many young players compose their own tunes, it’s not as common that these tunes are as captivating as Padilla’s. As a fiddler myself, I wanted to jump to my fiddle to learn each one! The reason she can compose tunes so ably is because she’s taken the time to learn multiple traditions of fiddling inside and out. There’s a great respect I can hear in these new compositions of hers.” - Devon Léger (Folk Alley Favorites:Best Trad of 2023)

“Listening to Montana Wildflower it's easy to think that most of these tunes have been arund for generations: the slipjig on Lady Slipper could come from an Altan album, the delightfully crooked oldtime reel Bittercress could be a version of Sally Ann. The waltz Forget-Me-Not is in classic country style, reminding me of compositions by Frankie Rodgers, Andy Dejarlis, Reg Bouvette and others. Prairie Flax starts with one of many O'Keeffe slides, an old tune indeed, given a treatment somewhere between Sliabh Luachra and Cecil Sharp House. A simple banjo melody and a sweet Celtic air bring us to a traditional oldtime reel and the final hard-hitting Americana medley of two contemporary tunes, dark and earthy, underpinning the wildflowers and ending this album on solid rock. Natalie Padilla's fiddle music fits right in, and takes these traditions to new and interesting places.” - Alex Monaghan (FolkWorld)

“…All in all, Montana Wildflower is a tour-de-force, a great shop-window for Natalie Padilla's strong compositional abilities and the masterful playing and strong musical rapport shared by herself and Quinn Bachand.” - Bob Leslie (Fatea UK)

“Forget Me Not” feature in Strings Magazine, July-August 2023 issue

Bluegrass Country Radio interview with Brad Kolodner, March 2023

Americana UK feature, March 2023

Bluegrass Today feature, March 2023

Bluegrass Situation feature, March 2023