Welcome to Crispycat Recordings....

WELCOME TO CRISPYCAT RECORDINGS

We issue the solo and collaborative work of musician, abstract artist and podcaster 

DAVID REILLY aka CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET (CBQ)

__________________________________________________________________________________

This section is the Cloudland Blue Diary

 

The diary comprises over twenty-one years of daily entries, commencing on Sunday 5 March 2005

The latest entry is from Friday 24 July 2026

(Please scroll down for the latest posts)

_________________________________________________________________________________

SITE DIRECTORY

To go to another section of the site, click on an icon below

ABOUT    MUSIC    PODCASTS    ART    RECOMENDED LISTENING

                    

__________________________________________________________________________

CRISPYCAT RECORDINGS ON BANDCAMP

To go to the Bandcamp discographies of these Crispycat related artists, click on an icon.

                    

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...

__________________________________________________________________________________

NEWS

NEXT NEW RELEASE

On Friday, 7 August, 2026: Across the Landscape (45th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded October 2025)

"A fragile object moves across the landscape, seeking a signal, untitled.

Dark for a long time, in the tone of a sentry, the first time after winter, it will swallow the plateau.

The night archer looks out at the world from inside the jaws of a wolf, condemned to non-existence, evaporated like air, taking the side roads."

__________________________________________________________________________________

LATEST ALBUM FROM CBQ

On Friday, 3 July 2026, Cloudland Blue Quartet released "Music for Guitar and String Quartet in 18 Movements", the 44th in The Soundscapes Series, recorded in November 2025.

As always from Crispycat Recordings, this release is entirely Free to Stream or Name Your Price (including zero) to Download (with 86 minutes of bonuses!)

It sounds like someone playing a 21st Century guitar (with distortion and looping involved) over some cleaned up but still slightly distressed, found string quartet recordings from the early 20th Century...

But that's not what it is...

It is, though, 57 minutes of music, in six parts (Movements 1-6, 7-9, 10, 11-13, 14-16 and 17 & 18)

__________________________________________________________________________________

UPCOMING LIVE PERFORMANCES

            

There are no live performances planned at present...

Performances will 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, Capital Models or vocal/electronic trio, Crazy Wisdom...

__________________________________________________________________________________

CURRENT CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET RELEASE SCHEDULE

    

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)

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)

Thursday, 24 December 2026: Twentytwentysix: The Originals (a collection of tracks from releases issued throughout 2026) (to be compiled December 2026)

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)

__________________________________________________________________________________

LATEST PODCAST

Since 2014, David has produced around 800 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 21 July 2026.  Volume 29 features tracks from these recordings, including 2 unreleased Capital Models works...

__________________________________________________________________________________

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

__________________________________________________________________________________

CREEK REISSUES

The re-issuing on Bandcamp of Creek's long-deleted back catalogue is set to recommence in the Autumn of 2026

__________________________________________________________________________________

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!)

There is a test and it was not passed...

Playlist

Post diary writing, soundtracked by 1976 Yes, New Music Friday once again...

Up and at it...

Definitely at it...

Some interesting things nabbed - but mainstream sounds soundtracked breakfast - the new ones from Bryan Adams and Shania Twain...

Mmmm, beans...

To work on the next phase of the Bob Dylan project - after last week's work on "Highway 61 Revisited", today I worked out 10 more songs from across his catalogue..

...and then, as last week, played some basic versions into the phone for work tomorrow and, on completion, sending on to the band re next Friday's session...

Anne was off out for a long leisurely lunch with Teresa and Debbie - sadly Teresa couldn't make it in the end...

Post my own at home pasta lunch, listening back to the recordings and, also, finding and playing back the speeches from my retirement do 4 years ago (many LOL moments it must be said), at 2, I was off out and down the hill for the bus...

Charlie XCX initially soundtracked - it was awful - so sad that millions will listen to it, while much more worthy LPs will go un-noticed, like, for example, my own "Broken", due in September, to which I switched before even reaching the foot of the hill...

Popped into the office to meet up with Gaz and then, round to the Alexander Graham Bell for a rendezvous with Bernie...

Our first meet for 10 weeks...

I am currently "aff it" and so, this...

...and top chat with the lads...

Gary was just back from Sitges and there were tales of Norway and Manchester too...

...and a couple of these...

...and this...

At six, Bernie and I left Gaz to hook up with a couple of chums and headed to the bus stop...

Bernie was desperate for chips, and so, jumped on a 31 even though my 26 was right behind...

I didn't mind though, as it meant I could listen to the "new" Hawkwind and toGary Boyle on the bus home, while watching the Luke Combs fans heading to Murrayfield...

I just missed capturing Bernie sprinting over the road from his stop to the chippie...

Home to Anne and a small tea plus the last 5 or so episodes of "Animal" ("Old Dog New Tricks") - looking forward to season 2...

Then, some listening - Uriah Heep "Salisbury" - one which I’ve enjoyed countless times over the last 50 odd years. The US issue with alternate track list and cover (cos that’s the one I bought, 2nd hand, back in the day). Shows a slightly “jazzy” side to the band, one which was never repeated…

Then, on iPlayer, the Prog Prom, performed last Friday night at the Royal Albert Hall...

It seemed to be a struggle for the, frankly, weak chosen vocalists to actually hit any notes accurately...

In the first half (from which, for some reason, the recording missed out Jethro Tull's "Living in the Past"), the instrumentals (ELP, Soft Machine, Mike Oldfield) were the highlights…

While some of this (Yes, ELP, Soft Machine, VDGG) is indeed “Prog”, too much of it was just ordinary pop music e.g. the selections from Genesis, Renaissance, Moody Blues, Focus and Osibisa - and why on earth was the Incredible String Band included??

Overall, far too much of the programme didn't pass the "Is this really progressive Rock?" test...

Amongst the cringeworthy moments, there was some quite beautiful stuff and some top notch playing, of course, in particular, the soprano sax on Soft Machine's "Out-Bloody-Rageous"...

And Elbow's Guy Garvey did a much better job with the King Crimson medley and Genesis' "Entangled" than his attempt at "I Know What I Like"…

In the final analysis though, Gentle Giant’s “On Reflection” was really the only piece which would able to hold its own in an actual “classical music programme”...

Also, why did we need Stuart Maconie introducing all the music?

No other prom needs someone telling the audience what’s being played...

All in all, a huge missed opportunity...

Bottom line? Put me in charge of it next year…

To bed at 1:15 with "Tales From Topographic Oceans" cleansing my palate, as I moved into the land of Morpheus...

Highlight of the Day: Meet up with Gaz and Bernie...

Today's New Music: