Sunday, April 26, 2026

Welcome to Crispycat Recordings....

WELCOME TO CRISPYCAT RECORDINGS

Over 1.96m visitors. Unfortunately, not all have invested...

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
Now, over twenty-one years of daily entries
from
Sunday 5 March 2005
to
Sunday 26 April 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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LATEST NEWS

New Album from CBQ

 On Record Store Day (18 April), "GLAM! FOUR", the fourth collection of, mostly, 1970s covers from CBQ, was released



It follows on from these three Record Store Day releases from 2023, 2024 and 2025...


Thirty Years of CBQ

In June, the 30th anniversary of the first CBQ recordings will be celebrated with a new song-based compilation entitled "Drift (Slow Songs 1996-2026: 30 Years of Cloudland Blue Quartet)"


Latest Podcast

The latest edition of David's weekly podcast, "Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection", was published on Mixcloud on 26 April.  The last 10, of over 750 podcasts, are currently still available for listening (see below).

2026 Volume 17 features tracks from these recordings...


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

New Collaborations

David has commenced work on new collaborational projects with both Edward Spark and Matthew Nowik (formerly Blue Sun Chasing).  No prospective release dates are yet known

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 Summer of 2026

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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...
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LATEST CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET RELEASE



As always from Crispycat Recordings, this release is entirely Free to Stream or Name Your Price (including zero)

Recorded over 14 days from February to June 2023 and one additional day in October 2024, as demos for his band Capital Models re songs they might cover or, in a few cases, already do, CBQ has compiled another 36 performances for this Record Store Day release.

Most have never been heard before, while a few have been featured on his weekly Eclectic Selection podcasts on Mixcloud.

Every vocal is a 1st take - indeed, as with 2023's "GLAM!", 2024's "GLAM! #2" and 2025's "GLAM! III", David had never sung many of these songs prior to these renditions.

So, you may spot vocal fluffs & errors from the very off (e.g. the shouts of "Fuck!" in the opening track or "Strawberry Fields", the initial botch up on "Young Americans" or the missed cue in "Ma Ma Ma Belle"), but is he really desecrating the catalogues of Brian Eno (5), David Bowie (4), The Beatles (3), The Velvet Underground (2), Uriah Heep (2), Bay City Rollers (1), Roxy Music (1), The Electric Light Orchestra (1), Glen Campbell (1), Pink Floyd (1), Kiss (1), Carly Simon (1), Elvis Presley (1), The Rolling Stones (1), Golden Earring (1), Led Zeppelin (1), The Who (1), Deep Purple (1), Suzi Quatro (1), Soft Cell (1), T Rex (1), Rod Stewart (1), Sparks (1), Bob Dylan (1) or Frank Sinatra (1)?

You are the judge!
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CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET RELEASE SCHEDULE


  

Friday, 1 May, 2026: Cobalt (42nd in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded August 2025)
Friday, 5 June, 2026: Dark (43rd in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded August 2025)
Wednesday, 10 June, 2026: Drift (Slow Songs 1996-2026 30 Years of Cloudland Blue Quartet) (19th in The Collections Series) (to be compiled May 2026)
Revised Release Date! Friday, 3 July, 2026Music for Guitar and String Quartet in 18 Movements (46th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded November 2025)

   

Revised Release Date! Friday, 7 August, 2026: Across the Landscape (44th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded October 2025)
Revised Release Date! Friday, 4 September, 2026: Broken (19th in The Songs Series) (Recorded November 2025)
Revised Release Date! Friday, 2 October, 2026: Elevation (45th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded November 2025)
Friday, 6 November, 2026Swan 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)

(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 - 5pm

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 Capital Models but a gig by vocal/electronic trio, Crazy Wisdom, is mooted in 2026...
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PODCASTS

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.  

Unfortunately, with only the most recent 10 able to be made available on the Mixcloud platform, 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.  

Click on the pic to go to Mixcloud...

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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!)

Creating something out of nothing, is always good...

Playlist


After going to bed at 9, I awoke at 2...

Managed to get back to sleep till 4, then music listening (Pink Floyd) till 5:15..

Up...


Still the weekend...


Skies duly treated...




...and to the machines...


My main goals today - podcasting and rehearsing - in the end, the latter didn't happen...

Filing the records from yesterday, I found I'd already bought this one...


Ooops...

To compiling, recording and uploading this week's podcast....





Done and dusted by 11...

This pic from Toronto from chum Duke Gray inspired me...


...to commence a collab project with him - let's see how that goes...


Today's CD Box, No 117, Miles Davis - Eric Dolphy...


Chose this early classic by Mr Dolphy...


...recorded in August 1960...


...with Ron Carter, on this particular recording, playing cello...


Meanwhile, Anne and Jane had travelled by train from Vienna to Salzburg, this the view from their top floor hotel room...


...this, my view from the office...


Lunch today, vegetarian schnitzels, in honour of the Alpine trip...


...with macaroni cheese on the side...


Meanwhile, in Salzburg, Sachertorte and coffee for the ladies...


The afternoon was spent recording a new thing re some "digger dagger" stuff Edward Spark sent me some time ago now...

One 50 minute piece, split into 4 parts...

It seems to be quite good...

Sparky is daring me to release it...

All in good time, old chum...

That, plus keeping an eye on the football...

Scotland's newest club down 2-0 at half time at home to Motherwell...

They got back to 2-2, but a 90th minute goal by "the Steelmen" sealed it, despite 10 minutes injury time being added...

At Easter Road, Hibs had a dream start, going 1 up inside 10 minutes...

Then, disaster, as their goalie was sent off for handling outside the box...

Just after half time, Hearts equalised...

Another Hibee was given a second yellow and, sure enough, with 5 minutes to go, Hearts got the winning goal against the remaining 9 men and so, remain ahead of both Celtic and Scotland's newest club, at the top of the league, with four games to play - Scotland's Newest Club, at Tynecastle on my birthday, then Falkirk, Motherwell and Celtic...

All must-win games for Hearts...

An experimental tea - mackerel fillets, eaten cold and unaccompanied...


Tasted a lot better than they looked...


None for Fang though - he had to settle for goodie drops...


This evening, Trevor Noah's stand up special was not bad - and followed by Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in "The Fall Guy" - which was very entertaining...


Then, writing this up and bed by midnight...

Solo weekend over...

Highlight of the Day: Creating something out of nothing...

Today's New Music: