WELCOME TO CRISPYCAT RECORDINGS
HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TODAY TO CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET
29 MAY 1996 - 29 MAY 2026
GET THE CELEBRATORY SONG COLLECTION HERE
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We issue the solo and collaborative work of musician, abstract artist and podcaster
DAVID REILLY aka CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET (CBQ)
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This section is the Cloudland Blue Diary
The diary comprises over twenty-one years of daily entries, from Sunday 5 March 2005 to Thursday 28 May 2026
(Please scroll down for the latest posts)
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SITE DIRECTORY
To go to another section of the site, click on an icon below
ABOUT MUSIC PODCASTS ART RECOMENDED LISTENING
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CRISPYCAT RECORDINGS ON BANDCAMP
To go to the Bandcamp discographies of these Crispycat related artists, click on an icon.
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Crispycat Recordings released the first 25 Cloudland Blue Quartet albums (recorded between 1996 and 2012) to Bandcamp in 2013.
A further 8 LPs were released between 2013 and 2019.
Then, with the advent of lockdown, David spent much more time on new Cloudland Blue Quartet works, with the result that, since May 2020, new music has been released almost every month, with almost 100 further new releases having been issued in the last five years.
The current 9 strong pipeline (see below) will take matters to the end of 2026, beyond the 30th anniversary of Cloudland Blue Quartet's debut recordings, pushing the total CBQ releases available on Bandcamp to 140.
Meanwhile, retrospective releases by David's groups Creek, Crazy Wisdom and Capital Models have also been being issued by Crispycat Recordings and these are set to continue, with around 50 planned over the next 18 months or so...
In 2025, Crazy Wisdom and Capital Models also released new recordings, with seven new EPs from Crazy Wisdom and their remastered back catalogue, which you can find here; and, from Capital Models, two new studio LPs, a live LP and an update to their all encompassing "Repertoire" virtual box set, all of which, along with original recordings from 1980 and reunion tapes from 2011, can be found here...
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NEWS
CURRENT CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET RELEASE SCHEDULE
Friday, 5 June, 2026: Dark (43rd in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded August 2025)
Friday, 3 July, 2026: Music for Guitar and String Quartet in 18 Movements (44th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded November 2025)
Friday, 7 August, 2026: Across the Landscape (45th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded October 2025)
Friday, 4 September, 2026: Broken (19th in The Songs Series) (Recorded November 2025)
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Friday, 2 October, 2026: Elevation (46th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded November 2025)
Friday, 6 November, 2026: Swan Songs (6th in the GLAM! Covers Series) (Recorded December 2025)
Friday, 5 December, 2026: Disquietmusik X (10th in The Disquietmusik Frippertronics Guitar Series) (to be recorded November 2026)
NEW! Thursday, 24 December 2026: Twentytwentysix: The Originals (a collection of tracks from releases issued throughout 2026) (to be compiled December 2026)
NEW! Thursday, 31 December 2026 : Twentytwentysix (a collection of rarities recorded during 2026, many receiving their first official release) (to be compiled December 2026)
(All artwork, releases and release dates subject to change)
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UPCOMING LIVE PERFORMANCES
Next Appearance: Capital Models at The Hop Run at Stewart Brewing, Loanhead
Saturday 6 June 2026 2pm - 6pm
Performances include solo appearances, as Cloudland Blue Quartet, presenting sets of either songs or soundscapes, and group performances, with the current line up of David's 1980 new wave band, Capital Models
At present there are no plans for his electronic improvisational quartet, Creek, to play live and nothing in the calendar for Cloudland Blue Quartet or vocal/electronic trio, Crazy Wisdom but a gig by Capital Models will take place at Stewart Brewing in Loanhead on 6 June 2026...
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LATEST ALBUM FROM CBQ
As always from Crispycat Recordings, this release is entirely Free to Stream or Name Your Price (including zero) to Download
On 29th May 1996, David Reilly and Peri Urban met at Peri's studio and recorded the first three of seven instrumental improvisations which subsequently appeared on a limited edition CD entitled "29.V.96 6.VI.96", on which David was credited as "The Cloudland Blue Quartet".
This was the first use of this moniker, following almost two decades of having been known as Sombre Reptiles for his song-based projects and The Heavenly Music Corporation for his soundscape work.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Cloudland Blue Quartet, Crispycat Recordings is proud to present a new song-based compilation, featuring 30 slow pieces, on which work commenced back in 1996 (although the first song was not officially released until late 1997) and was completed in May 2026, with the remix, included here, of "The Surrender of Barcelona", along with the final remastering of many of these works.
We hope you enjoy the first 30 years of "the" Cloudland Blue Quartet's songs and, to bring things full circle, the album closes with the 2026 remaster of "29.V.96 I" the first ever piece released under the name, Cloudland Blue Quartet
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NEXT NEW RELEASE
On Friday, 5 June, 2026, Cloudland Blue Quartet will release "Dark", the 43rd in The Soundscapes Series, recorded in August 2025. Deemed "orchestral ambient", elements of this work were first aired at the performances in 2025 of the Live Suite, "Keepsake"...
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LATEST PODCAST
Since 2014, David has produced over 750 editions of the "Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection", his weekly podcast on Mixcloud, reflecting his esoteric taste in music and encouraging listeners to broaden their musical horizons.
Click on the pic below to go to Mixcloud
Unfortunately, with only the most recent 10 able to be made available, each new podcast replaces the one from 10 weeks before.
To obtain an MP3 download link for any currently unavailable Cloudland Blue Quartet Eclectic Selection, simply e-mail your request to crispycat@hotmail.com.
The latest edition was published on 24 May. 2026 Volume 21 features tracks from these recordings...
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CAPITAL MODELS TEMPORARY QUARTET
Capital Models are currently in a series of rehearsals with guitarist Martin McQueen, who will dep for John Barclay at Capital Models next quartet gig, in June (see above under upcoming performances)
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NEW COLLABORATIONS
David has commenced work on new collaborational projects with Edward Spark, Blue Sun Chasing and Duke Gray of Oddsfiche. No prospective release dates are yet known
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NEW CRAZY WISDOM
Following the reactivation of Crazy Wisdom in 2024 and the release of several EPs and the back catalogue last year, Crazy Wisdom are planning new music for 2026 and the start of this project is imminent
The re-issuing on Bandcamp of Creek's long-deleted back catalogue is set to recommence in the Summer of 2026
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CREEK REISSUES
The re-issuing on Bandcamp of Creek's long-deleted back catalogue is set to recommence in the Summer of 2026
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DIARY UPDATES
Note that, in the diary, 150 days, across 6 periods in 4 of the 21 years are, currently, "picture only":-
2016: 15-17 October (3 Days)
2021: 8-21 May (14 Days)
2022: 18 April - 10 May & 6 July - 5 September (85 Days)
2023: 1 - 15 October & 18 October - 19 November (48 Days)
It is always the intention to update "picture only" days with the relevant text but doing so is, of course, subject to opportunity (and, indeed, memory!)
