Monday, July 27, 2026

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)
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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 Sunday 26 July 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.

                    

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

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."

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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)
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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...
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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)
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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...


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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


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CREEK REISSUES

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

Sunday, July 26, 2026

That was not the outcome we wanted...

Playlist


Sunday and up and "working"...


...before breakfast...


Anne was off out 8:30 for Pickleball at 9 - I did some tidying up and some filing, of sorts...

Filing CDs into those that, in turn, need to be filed into the entire library...


...and looking to find out whatever happened to all the talk this time last year from Alice Cooper and Bob Ezrin about the original band doing another LP...

So, so very disappointing that the Coop has just continued with his never-ending touring while ignoring the "Revenge" album and, seemingly, not communicating with Bruce, Dunaway and Smith about anything they might do to bring the original band back to the stage...

I'm sure people would much rather see that than the Hollywood Vampires (next release, a live set form 8 years ago!)...

All that reading did lead me to download an interesting tribute album...

Anyway, on Anne's return, she'd noticed one of the Soffit Vents had fallen out...


A search ensued and, hopefully, the replacements eventually found and ordered will fit the bill...

Meanwhile, this afternoon, a new thing for Anne arrived - re phone security...


Looking good...


Wrist strap too...


We watched the remainder of the first season of "Death Inc" - it was getting better and we'll continue into Season 2...

Listened to some New York dance music from 1977-1982 - Material having been my fave band from the genre at the time...

Watched some of "Pink Floyd at Pompeii" while Anne prepped the tea - her first ever Risotto...

As you would expect it was entirely yum-tastic...


Then, we wathed the last three episodes of season 2 of "The Night Manager"...


Spoiler alert...

The ending was, while brilliantly done, utterly unsatisfying but, in the end, probably far more realistic an outcome than we were hoping for...

Post that, Ulrich Schnauss soundtracked the dishes while Anne caught up with "Corrie"...

Bed around 11:30...


Weekend gone...


Highlight of the Day: The Night Manager - but not the ending we wanted...

Today's New Music:

Saturday, July 25, 2026

How are the mighty fallen and the fallen risen...

Playlist


Up around 6 and immediately to work on editing yesterday's rough recordings of 10 Bob Dylan songs...


By around 8:15, I was ready to send them, along with the song sheets, to the band...

Hopefully, we'll be able to play through them next Friday...


I'd mentioned I'd been unable to work out "If Not For You" - JB kindly provided a suitable chord structure and I was able to construct a song sheet in my chosen format - I also accessed Olivia Newton-John's hit version, which seemed to have extra verses...

Just before 11, a further recording was done and dusted and out to the boys in the band...

Hopefully this work will prove rewarding - I'm certainly enjoying the first set of Dylan we did last week...

Then, my thoughts turned to the Prog Prom and my shout that, next year, I should be in charge...

My first draft was a 66 minute collection of instrumental versions of 8 pieces, by VDGG, Tull, ELP, Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, Crimso and UK...

Of those, I removed the vocals from the first four plus Gentle Giant and UK, while Crims was already instrumental and the Deluxe Box Set of Close to the Edge already included instrumentals created by Steven Wilson...

Very enjoyable...



Post some listening back, lunch and a "Bones", I returned to the machines to create a second eight work disc...

I added Caravan, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Soft Machine, Camel, Focus, P.F.M., Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd...

The Caravan instrumental version was provided via Richard Sinclair and I removed the vocals from, inevitably, "Comfortably Numb" - like the King Crimson track on disc one, the other six were already instrumentals...

Then, a Roger Dean cover, of course...


Done and, lo, it was good (listening now again as I type)...


Now that's what I call a Progressive Rock Prom...

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, Queens were pumped 3-1 by Queen's Park and dumped out of the League Cup...

Gone are the days when I could go to Hampden and watch Queens pump Queen's Park...

How are the mighty fallen and the fallen risen...

Later on, reposted this week's podcast, along with its current chart placings...


Later still, steak and trimmings for tea...


This evening, finally got round to starting the second season of "The Night Manager", from January...

After two episodes, we are sucked in...

Thanks to an article from 2007 by Ethan Iverson, I found 4 LPs by Bill McHenry, most featuring Reid Anderson and Ben Monder...

And so, ended the day with more listening - this time of music new to me...

Highlight of the Day: Prog creation...

Today's New Music: