Thursday, April 02, 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
Now, over twenty-one years of daily entries

from
Sunday 5 March 2005
to
Tuesday 31 March 2026
 (Scroll down for the latest entries)
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SITE DIRECTORY

To go to another section of the site, click on an icon below

ABOUT    NEWS    MUSIC    PODCASTS    ART    RECOMENDED LISTENING
                         
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LATEST NEWS

Next Album

"Dissolution VI", the next in the CBQ series of albums of improvised piano and ambience, which has been running since 2021, was recorded on 31 March 2026 and will be released on Bandcamp on Friday 3 April - Free to Stream/Name Your Price to Download with Bonuses


Latest Podcast

The latest edition of David's weekly podcast, "Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection", was published on Mixcloud on 30 March.  The last 10, of over 750 podcasts, are currently still available for listening (see below).

2026 Volume 13 features tracks from these recordings...


Temporary Quartet

On 29 March, Capital Models convened for the first time with guitarist Martin McQueen, who will dep for John Barclay at Capital Models next quartet gig, in June, due to JB's unavailability

Record Store Day

 On Record Store Day (11 April), "GLAM! FOUR", the fourth collection of, mostly, 1970s covers from CBQ, will be released


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


Further CBQ Releases in 2026

Currently, a further five soundscape and two song-based CBQ albums, recorded during 2025, are ready for release and scheduled to appear in 2026, between May and November

       

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)"

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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 over 90 further new releases having been issued in the last five years.

The current 11 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 bonuses)

""Materialisation" is a new collaboration between CBQ and Brussels based saxophonist and modular synthist, Joe Higham, following on from their work together on "Departure" released in August 2023

"Materialisation" comprises two 47 minute LPs - the first is CBQ's reworking of Joe's original piece, "Ghost Too", which closes out that set, while the second comprises an ambient mix of "Materialisation" closing off with CBQ's remix of "Ghost Too"

For downloaders (who will be able to listen to all versions of "Materialisation" gaplessly), there's an additional 74:19 of material, comprising an exclusive remix of the piece "Abstract Painting (1959)" from CBQ's "Disquietmusik VIII" (7:40), the first, subsequently rejected, 31:06 version of "Materialisation" and a further 35:33 mock up of the album, featuring saxophone elements by John Coltrane and Marcin Steczkowski, not present on the original LP"
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CLOUDLAND BLUE QUARTET RELEASE SCHEDULE



Friday, 3 April, 2026: Dissolution VI (6th in The Dissolution Piano Series) (to be recorded March 2026)
Saturday, 11 April, 2026 (Record Store Day)GLAM! FOUR (5th in the GLAM! Covers Series) (Recorded February 2023 - October 2024)
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)
Friday, 3 July, 2026: Across the Landscape (44th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded October 2025)
Friday, 7 August, 2026: Broken (19th in The Songs Series) (Recorded November 2025)
Friday, 4 September, 2026: Elevation (45th in The Soundscapes Series) (Recorded November 2025)

   

Friday, 2 October, 2026: Music for Guitar and String Quartet in 18 Movements (46th 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 almost 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!)

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

A day of dissolution...

Playlist


March away...



Up late...


Machines fired up...


Sky treated...




...and to recording "Dissolution VI" - an album of piano improvs and ambience - the, as the title suggests, sixth in this series, which started, by chance, in March 2021 and, of which, a new LP has been released each April since...



All work finished by lunchtime...

It'll be out as planned, this Friday, at 8am...

A visit from a difficult to capture, Fang...



Lunch, before Anne headed off to PickleBall...

I looked into matters re the playing of a CD a day from a CD box from the back room and discovered, having started the exercise on 7 January, I ought to be on box 84 by today and so, am seven boxes behind...

And so, getting up to date (I may do another quick 6 so that I can get in line with the position had I started on 1 January - we'll see)...

Anyway, the next 8 boxes...

Box 77 Duncan McTier - Anne-Sophie Mutter...


Chose a "delightful" disc of oboe concertos from the composers of the so-called Mannheim School...


Four reasonably unknown music maestros... 


LeBrun, Holzbauer, von Winter and Eichner...


I do like an oboe concerto...

Box 78 - Anne-Sophie Mutter - David Oistrakh...


From this box, a disc by guitarist Allan Neave,,,


New Scottish music for guitar...


...featuring pieces by Edward McGuire, Alasdair Nicolson, Gordon McPherson and Peter Maxwell Davies...


Box 79 Christopher O'Riley - Julian Pregardien...



The band, Piano Circus...


...from 1992...


Fitkin and Nyman are well known, Seddon and Rackham, maybe not so much...


Box 80, Julian Pregardien - The Rosendale Quartet


A CD acquired in that Toronto in 2015...


Mr Gould's String Quartet - adapted 10 years later by me for my "Gould" LP on Bandcamp...


...plus music by fellow Canadian (via Scotchland), Ernest MacMillan...

Quatuor Alcan - sponsored by Alcan...

Metal!


Box 81, Mstislav Rostropovich - Scottish National Orchestra...


From this box, a lovely disc of late middle ages compositions for voices...


Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, singing pieces from the Codex Engelberg 314...


Every single composition by an anonymous composer...


Box 82, Seattle Symphony Orchestra - Joan Sutherland...


Five string trios...


...from 2012 - I may have bought this in Berlin...


Two works by Milhaud plus Jolivet, Roussel and Francaix...


So, five French works, expertly played by Streichtrio Berlin...

Box 83, Jenna Sung - Dawn Upshaw...


Time for some trombone...


OK, alto trombone...


Works by two modern faves of mine, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Wolfgang Rihm...


Plus the bonus of, slightly younger than me, George Benjamin...

And, finally, post this catch up, today's box...

No 84, Richard Uttley - Thomas Zehetmair...

Almost at the end of the "single artist" boxes and about to move into "various artists/composers compilations" territory...


Pretty sure I acquired this shortly after its release back in 1989...


The box is a bit worn but the sound is, of course, perfect because, these are CDs...


A nice selection of then contemporary American composers, Barber, Corigliano, Persichetti, Pozdro and Copland...

Some of the four, then, living composers now, no doubt, dead...


...but their music lives on in my library...

Put a few wee pieces of chorizo into the microwave...


...to add to Anne's delicious tea...


The chorizo was rather crunchy...

But did not ruin the dish...


On telly, 70 at the final quarter final of "University Challenge" - too much science...

First in the new series of "Beyond Paradise" and all but the final episode of "Good Cop Bad Cop", before watching Scotland struggle against Ivory Coast, losing 1-0 (at Everton, for some strange reason)...

Meanwhile, also in England, Japan beat their hosts 1-0...

Unlike the effect on Scotland's ranking of Japan having beaten us 1-0 the other day (down 5 places), England remain 4th in the world because the positions of the teams at the top are kind of unassailable due to points accrued...

When draws for competitions are seeded based on these placings, the top teams always end up in easy groups playing the equivalent of "pub teams"...

And so, nothing ever changes...

Extremely annoying...



Anyway...

Lights out at just after 11...


...with another CBQ LP done and dusted...

Highlight of the Day: Creating...

Today's New Music: