Tuesday, February 04, 2025

WELCOME TO CRISPYCAT...

WELCOME TO CRISPYCAT RECORDINGS
We issue the solo and collaborative work of musician, broadcaster and abstract artist
DAVID REILLY

ABOUT    NEWS    MUSIC    BROADCASTS    ART    RECOMENDED LISTENING
This is the Cloudland Blue Diary - to go to another section of the site, click on an icon
                         

DIARY
The diary is up to date, with daily entries from Sunday 5 March 2005 to Tuesday 4 February 2025...
 (Scroll down for the latest entries)

155 days are "picture only" entries, across 8 periods:-
2005 (5): 8-12 September (5); 2006 (4): 5-8 May (4); 2016 (3): 15-17 October (3); 2022 (85): 18 April - 10 May (23); 6 July - 5 September (62);
2023 (58): 21 September - 15 October (25); 18 October - 19 November (33)

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!)

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 over 60 further new releases having been issued in the last five years.

The current 13 strong pipeline (see below) will take matters to April 2026, pushing the total Cloudland Blue Quartet releases available on Bandcamp beyond 100.

Meanwhile, retrospective releases by David's groups Creek and Capital Models have also been being issued by Crispycat Recordings and these are set to continue, with over 40 planned between now and mid 2026...

LATEST RELEASE




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

Another surprise single from CBQ, again in collaboration with Edward Spark. Three versions of Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" plus three instrumental mixes...

As a 15 minute bonus for downloaders, 2025 remasters of versions of the song by CBQ's former AKA, Sombre Reptiles, from his 1986 LP "Poppies" and from a rehearsal by his band Capital Models in 2020 (the only time they have ever played the song) are included in the download bundle...

CURRENT CBQ RELEASE SCHEDULE

 

Friday 7 February 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Variations on Brian Eno's "Discreet Music" (Soundscape Variations LP)
NEW! Friday 21 February 2025: Cloudland Blue Quartet & Pedantic Pedestrian - 10 Untitled Abstract Pieces (Collaborative Soundscape LP)
Friday 7 March 2025: Cloudland Blue Quartet - Wrexham (Soundscape Piano & Guitar Based LP)
NEW! Friday 21 March 2025: Cloudland Blue Quartet & Robert Scott Thompson - Forgotten Snow (Collaborative Soundscape LP)

    

Friday 4 April 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Dissolution V (Soundscape Piano Based LP)
Saturday 12 April 2025 (Record Store Day)Cloudland Blue Quartet - GLAM! III (RSD Special: Covers LP)
Friday 2 May 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Variations on Brian Eno's "On Land" (Soundscape Variations LP)
Friday 6 June 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Strand (Soundscape Piano & Synthesiser Based LP)

    

Friday 4 July 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Gould (Soundscape Composers LP)
Friday 1 August 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Variations on Fripp & Eno's "No Pussyfooting" (Soundscape Variations LP)
Friday 5 September 2025Cloudland Blue Quartet - Variations on Fripp & Eno's "Evening Star" (Soundscape Variations LP)
Friday 5 December 2025: Cloudland Blue Quartet - Disquietmusik IX (Soundscape Guitar Based LP)

 

Friday 3 April 2026Cloudland Blue Quartet - Dissolution VI (Soundscape Piano Based LP)
Saturday 11 April 2026 (Record Store Day)Cloudland Blue Quartet - GLAM! FOUR (RSD Special: Covers LP)

(All artwork, releases and release dates subject to change)

SCHEDULED LIVE PERFORMANCES

            

Saturday 29th March 2025, 8:00pm - Capital Models
Leith Dockers, 17 Academy Street, Edinburgh, EH6 7EE
Repertoire: 3 sets of top covers, from Elvis to Taylor Swift

Saturday 24th May 2025, 8:00pm - Capital Models
Leith Dockers, 17 Academy Street, Edinburgh, EH6 7EE
Repertoire: 3 sets of top covers, from Elvis to Taylor Swift

In addition to these, there are these further possible appearances...

Occasional Thursdays, 8:00pm - Cloudland Blue Quartet
Out of the Bedroom, Safari Lounge, 21 Cadzow Place, Edinburgh EH7 5SN
Repertoire: 3 song acoustic set (if attempting to secure a slot the date will be added here)

Performances include those solo, as Cloudland Blue Quartet, presenting sets of either songs or soundscapes, and group, with the current line up of David's 1980 new wave band, Capital Models, currently playing covers (from Elvis to Tay Tay but about to embark on a project to re-lrearn the bands original canon from 1979/80). 

At present there are no plans for his electronic improvisational quartet, Creek, to play live...

BROADCASTS
David produces a weekly podcast on Mixcloud, reflecting his esoteric taste in music and encouraging listeners to broaden their musical horizons.  Since 2014, over 700 editions of the "Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection" have been recorded.  Unfortunately, only the most recent 10 are able to be made available on the Mixcloud platform.  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...


Everything tried, nothing worked...

Playlist
Capital Models - Twentyfive Fortyfive
lots of hands - into a pretty room
ASC - Tales of Introspection
Francesco Corti & Il Pomo d'Oro - The Age of Extremes: W.F. Bach, G. Benda & C.P.E. Bach
Phaeleh - Fear of Silence
Ludovico Einaudi - The Summer Portraits
Mary Eliza - Spider
Roxy Music - Viva! Roxy Music
Roxy Music - Newcastle City Hall 1974-10-28
Dino Ciani - The Genius of Dino Ciani
Tarbaby - You Think This America
Sebastian Morawietz - Pianospheres
Marea - Los potros del tiempo
Swedish House Mafia - Paradise Again
Public Image Limited - Public Image
Pyramid - Beyond Borders of Time
Supertramp - Brother Where You Bound
sneaky jesus - For Chaching Taphed
Weinberg - Complete Piano Works Volume 4
Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson
And So I Watch You from Afar - Jettison
Tony Visconti - Visconti's Inventory
Michael Price - The Hope of Better Weather
Alice Cooper - Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits
Alice Cooper - From the Inside
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
Alice Cooper - Along Came A Spider
Alice Cooper - Pretties For You
Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare
Alice Cooper - Trash
Alice Cooper - Constrictor
Alice Cooper - Raise Your Fist And Yell
Alice Cooper - Road
Alice Cooper - Special Forces
Alice Cooper - Paranormal
Alice Cooper - Collection (Germany 1982)
Alice Cooper - The Alice Cooper Show
Alice Cooper - Love It To Death
Alice Cooper - Lace and Whiskey
Alice Cooper - Detroit Stories
Alice Cooper - Easy Action
Alice Cooper - The Eyes of Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper - Muscle of Love

Up and to the machines...

A screenshot via the new phone...


And some pics to set the scene...








And that was it...

Plugged it into the laptop to add some LPs and was asked if I wanted to update the software - it's been asking for a few days now - so, I said "ok"...

Looked like it was happening, then, iTunes crashed...

Phone "bricked" (i.e. became a brick - i.e. would no longer turn on)...

Everything tried.  Nothing worked...

Appointment made at the Apple Store for tomorrow morning, SIM switched to my trusty iPhone 8 - loadsa messages lost from my WhatsApp...

Anyway, that's one for tomorrow now - nothing I can do...

It was 4 February...


...which is, of course, Alice Cooper's birthday...

Happy 77th...


We have secured tickets to see him in July...

In Scotland, these days, he usually plays the Hydro in Glasgow, which holds 14,300 - we will see him at the Edinburgh Playhouse (as in 1986, 1987 and 1992) with just 3,000 others...

A "Night Agent" with lunch and some Debussy...


A driech day for chum Paul's mum's funeral...


Left in good time, meeting up with old bandmate of both Paul and I via Pure Bears and Disco Complex, George Coleman...

A good service - Paul read the eulogy...

Then, to the Braid Hills Hotel for coffees and sandwiches...

Good to catch up with George, my favourite mobile librarian - due to retire at the end of this year...

Home...


...and prepped and uploaded this week's podcast...


...before tea...


Tonight, the final two episodes of this year's "Silent Witness" - I have to say that something has happened  -this series was light years ahead of the usual nitpick fest...

Ended the day with 34 LPs on shuffleplay on the, I'll say it again, "trusty" iPhone 8...


...and wrote this up - after having spent much of today not already described above, writing up the last seven days...

To bed...

Highlight of the Day : Not having gotten rid of my trusty iPhone 8...

Today's New Music:-