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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
Friday 1 May 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 1st May 2026, the dark ambient album, "Cobalt" was released
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
The re-issuing on Bandcamp of Creek's long-deleted back catalogue is set to recommence in the Summer of 2026
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.
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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 8 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) to Download (with bonus material)
"Cobalt" is the 41st Cloudland Blue Quartet soundscapes album - relatively short in comparison to previous releases in the series, it comes in at around 48 minutes, i.e. a (fairly long) single LP.
The download bundle doubles the content though, containing as it does, an alternative version of the album, comprising the initial recordings of the four pieces. At that point , the record was to be called "Dark Slate, Deep Sky", subsequently abandoned for the snappier "Cobalt".
The final album is music in the vein of previous ambient works "Coldclear", "Gewitter", "Mercurial", "Providence", "Like a Sunday", and this year's "Low Peach Winter Sun" and can be seen as a continuation of those
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CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET RELEASE SCHEDULE
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)
Friday, 3 July, 2026: Music for Guitar and String Quartet in 18 Movements (46th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded November 2025)
Friday, 7 August, 2026: Across the Landscape (44th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded October 2025)
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Friday, 4 September, 2026: Broken (19th in The Songs Series) (Recorded November 2025)
Friday, 2 October, 2026: Elevation (45th 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)
(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 vocal/electronic trio, Crazy Wisdom but a gig by Capital Models will take place at Stewart Brewing in Loanhead on 6 June 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!)
