Working with Jamie, kind of...

Playlist

Mayuko - Songs To Whistle When Strolling Along The Abyss

Kinoteki - Faith and the Vessel

Úlfur Eldjárn - King of the Mountains

Capital Models - 2011-02-25 The Music Box (Set 4)

Capital Models - 2014-03-19 3 Sets

Capital Models - The 2011 Reunion Sessions

Capital Models - 2024-01-28

Capital Models - 2023-07-02

Capital Models - 2023-05-14

Capital Models - 2023-05-27

Capital Models - 2023-06-11

Capital Models - 2021-06-13

Capital Models - 2023-04-23

Capital Models - 2021-08-11

Capital Models - 2023-08-06

Enchant - The Great Divide

Jamie Frain & Friends - Live at the Kilted Pig 2012-04-21

Úlfur Eldjárn - Innsaei: The Sea Within

Pet Shop Boys - Burning the heather

OK, it's Wednesday and it's the final day of the first month of 2024 - where did it go??

Wherever it went, it's gone...

So what did I do on the last day of the first month of 2024?

Got up just before 7...

...and, as I was downstairs prepping a coffee, wee Rocky from the next row of houses up the hill, popped by...

...for a wee look around...

She's such a cutie - her owner, though, is worried about other households feeding her, hence the message on her collar...

She likes to stalk...

...but, inevitably, fails to catch the birds in the garden...

Did the dishes and put them all away...

Spent much of the day remastering a recording I did with Jamie Frain and Keith Apter back in 2012 - the start of the third phase of Capital Models really...

On the night, I was playing bass through a bass amp while Keith played a cahon - so neither of those was picked up on the desk recordings, which contain Jamie's and my vocals and guitars only (where I played guitar) plus guest vocalist, owner of the bar where we played, Finbar...

I am toying with the idea of re-recording my bass parts and perhaps asking Keith if he's up for redoing the cahon too...

I can see from old Facebook messages that I already gave this set to Jamie's daughter, Madison, a few years ago, when she asked if I had any recordings of her dad - but it might be nice to put it out on Bandcamp for the 10th anniversary of Jamie's far too early death, back in March 2014...

We'll see...

Tasty pasta for tea...

...and some entertaining telly, as we binged the last 3 episodes of "Trigger Point" and a couple of "Leverage" before hitting the sack...

And, finally, we rebooked a trip to North Wales which we were looking forward to four years ago but which was abandoned due to Covid...

So that's nice...

Also picked up quite a lot of strange classical music I'll probably never listen to - along with a few Pet Shop Boys items missing from the collection...

Highlight of the Day : Working with Jamie again, kind of...

Today's New Music:-

The quartets are ready to roll...

Playlist

Capital Models - 2024-01-28

Various Artists - The Girls' Scene

Various Artists - Check the Water

Courting - New Last Name

Chalk Portraits - The Rainfall Singles

Cloudland Blue Quartet - String Quartet No 2 (2023)

Cloudland Blue Quartet - String Quartet No 1 (2015)

Cloudland Blue Quartet - The Hessler Nowik Conundrum

Various Artists - The Weekender

Various Artists - The Psychedelic Scene

Pattern-Seeking Animals - Spooky Action at a Distance

Spock's Beard - The Oblivion Particle

Spock's Beard - The Kindness Of Strangers

Spock's Beard - Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep

Mayuko - Songs To Whistle When Strolling Along The Abyss

Emerson Lake & Powell - Emerson Lake & Powell

Oooh, up late today!

Birthday roses still looking good...

Almost a month gone of 2024 already...

Must get round to watching the New Years' Day concert...

On my own front, this morning I listened to and uploaded to Bandcamp, these...

This from 2015 will be a bonus for downloaders...

..while this, recorded last April, will be the main event re the first CBQ release of 2024...

Quite enjoyable although a bit leftfield really but, I like to keep people on their toes!

Current music projects...

Finished

String Quartet No 2 (2023)

Vanilla Receiver (commenced November 2023)

Providence (commenced November 2023)

Front Porch (Cloudland Blue Quartet Edition) (commenced December 2023)

CBQ Live at Fopp & TQ (Recorded November 2023, January 2024)

Decades (compiled January 2024)

The Hessler Nowik Conundrum (commenced January 2024)

Liminal Traveler (commenced January 2024)

Songs of the Sombre Reptiles 1980-1995 (Compiled January 2024)

Started

Slow Squirrel Cage (commenced September 2022)

The Dark Room (commenced April 2023)

Two Two One Zero (commenced June 2023)

Variations on Fripp & Eno (commenced August 2023)

Quartet Songs (commenced November 2023)

To be recorded

Dissolution IV (to be created and recorded March 2024)

Live Suite 2024/25 (to be created and recorded by October 2024)

Disquietmusik VIII (to be created and recorded by December 2024)

To be compiled

Twentytwentyfour: The Originals (to be compiled December 2024)

Twentytwentyfour (to be compiled December 2024)

Capital Models

Continue with the release of archive recordings to Bandcamp - work to be done...

Creek

Continue with the release of archive recordings to Bandcamp - ready to go...

Listening to the quartets led me to look at what music the four people who actually play them may have done...

Una Sveinbjarnardóttir - Violin

Pálína Árnadóttir - Violin

Guðrún Hrund Harðardóttir - Viola

Hrafnkell Orri Egilsson - Cello

Úlfur Eldjárn - Director

Which, in turn, led to some downloading of new, good stuff (see below)...

At 12:30, took Anne into town to meet with chum Debbie for a tasty lunch at Mia's..

Mine?

Secured at Lidl before a wee look through the local charity shops...

Got these two things from my childhood for a quid each from the Salvation Army shop...

Makes a change from CDs...

With Anne having been on a long leisurely lunch, post picking her up at the bottom of the hill, there followed some solo cooking from MR CBQ...

...which proved to be tasty...

...and probably better than Anne's cheese, olives and toast later on snack as we binged the final three episodes of "Trigger Point"...

Spoiler alert...

The baddies get their comeuppance...

Highlight of the Day : Trigger Point...

Today's New Music:-

Exec Producer birthday alert...

Playlist

Capital Models - 2017-02-11

Capital Models - 2018-12-02

Capital Models - 2019-04-28

Capital Models - 2019-12-01

Capital Models - 2020-02-09

Capital Models - 2020-02-25

Capital Models - 2020-03-10

Capital Models - 2021-06-13

Capital Models - 2021-07-25

Capital Models - 2022-06-04

Capital Models - 2023-02-05

Capital Models - 2023-09-10

Capital Models - 2023-10-01

Capital Models - 2023-10-29

Capital Models - 2024-01-14

Capital Models - 2024-01-28

Up just after6...

...and out into the dark to secure card and presents for Anne...

Home for coffee...

...and to work just after 7...

Anne v pleased with a lovely jacket (which, to be fair, she chose herself and which was delivered yesterday) plus the biggest bar of chocolate in the world, a big bouquet of roses and a Paddington based card...

Flowers were arranged before Anne went out to assist her mum....

The rest of the day was taken up with editing yesterday's session and listening to my playlist I'm making of the "best" versions of each of the 110 songs we've played over the years...

In the evening, post Pilates and leftover lasagna and salad, Anne's birthday (which we, of course, celebrated on Friday at Prana) was today celebrated with "Mastermind", "Only Connect", "University Challenge" (140 points, back on form), "Silent Witness" and the next two of "Trigger Point", all of which entertained...

Last thing, finally got round to ripping Friday's purchases...

That was about it I think...

Highlight of the Day : It was Anne's birthday...

Today's New Music:-

Excitement tempered by disappointment...

Playlist

Spock's Beard - The Oblivion Particle

Spock's Beard - The Kindness Of Strangers

Spock's Beard - Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep

Capital Models - 2023-12-03

Capital Models - 2023-11-19

Capital Models - 2024-01-14

Capital Models - 2023-07-02

Capital Models - 2023-05-27

Capital Models - 2020-02-25

Capital Models - 2023-08-06

Capital Models - 2021-08-11

Capital Models - 2022-06-04

Capital Models - 2020-03-10

Capital Models - 2022-11-20

Capital Models - 2020-02-09

Capital Models - 2022-12-04

Capital Models - 2023-03-26

Capital Models - 2024-01-28

Another busy day ahead...

The cat on the calendar was chasing the VW Campervan...

Before Anne was even awake, I was off out to pick up Paul Keyboards...

Roslin at 10 for today's rehearsal...

Having concentrated on the Bowie/Roxy/Eno/Velvets sets since John B Guitarist joined the band, today, we were starting work on songs we might do at a Wedding booking on my birthday in May...

Over the last fortnight, the boys in the band (ex John B) have been choosing songs they feel would work best at the event...

So, we did our soundcheck re the mix then talked through all the choices - which ended up totaling just over 60 of our 110 songs...

I'd put the entire repertoire into reverse order of No of Times Played, to determine the songs we'd probably need to work on most and so, today, we worked on 18 songs which John B had never played before...

It went very well indeed and was a wee booster for the band to play different songs...

After a break, a coffee and cake break...

John W Drummer's Exec Producer Moira had made a lovely Bakewell Tray Bake...

Then, back to work for another hour and a half or so...

Good work from the team...

Took Paul to a stop from where he jumped onto a bus heading for his home, as I was off to see my my mum...

Yet another infection and still failing to grasp that she will not be able to move around independently any more once she gets home...

Consequently, very depressed about it all...

"What's the point of still being here" was the quote of the day...

I explained it wouldn't be too much different from how she was before, as the carers then did most things for her and, as far as going outside, we could still do that but it would need to be via taxi rather than her kids' cars...

I also got a promise from the nurse in charge that the physios would be made aware that mum wanted to try again to walk with the aid of a zimmer, as she felt she has not been given a fair crack of the whip in that respect...

Home around 5 - almost like working...

Anne was making a lovely lasagne...

...which was , indeed, lovely...

...and enjoyed by your correspondent and his Exec Producer, with these...

Then, to work, editing today's sessions...

132 minutes of chat and work and attempts removed...

...to leave us with around 65 minutes of music...

I did not send it out yet as the tracks need more work as regards editing - cutting and pasting and cross fading to replace parts with remaining errors with similar parts from elsewhere in the song with no errors...

Etc etc...

Back downstairs at 9 for the first in the new season of "Trigger Point"...

Very good indeed!

Then, some listening back to today on the cans while Anne watched football and surfed the net on the eve of her birthday...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Rehearsing...

Today's New Music:-