About

Crispycat Recordings issue the recordings of Edinburgh based musician and artist, David Reilly, who has operated under various names since 1977 and as Cloudland Blue Quartet (CBQ) since 1996.

He has been involved in over 500 releases since 1977, contributing variously as singer, guitarist, bassist, synthist, keyboardist, soundscaper, drummer, remixer or producer. Since 2013, his work as CBQ has been available exclusively via Bandcamp, initially as both CD and download but, now, download only. Each new release is available to stream for free, while downloaders can purchase recordings on a “name your price basis”, with most download bundles containing a wide range of bonus material relating to the release in question.

Visit Cloudland Blue Quartet on Bandcamp by clicking on the pic below.

Enquiries re his pre 1996 output can be made via the contact form.

Full list of pre 1996 releases is on the Music page. Go there by clicking on the pic below

David also broadcasts the “Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection“, weekly on Mixcloud. The show has been running since 2014 and highlights items from his extensive music collection.

Visit the Cloudland Blue Quartet Eclectic Selections Site by clicking on the pic below.

You can read an interview with David about his music and his broadcasting, given in the summer of 2021, by clicking on the pic below.

He also often uses the broadcasts to preview works in progress, or to highlight his back catalogue.

David started making music around 1974, playing euphonium baritone in his school’s brass band. He began to experiment on his own music in the Autumn of 1977, double tracking back and forth between two of his dad’s old mono portable cassette recorders before moving to a stereo version.

From the outset, he has always worked on both songs and soundscapes. Initially influenced by Fripp & Eno’s “No Pussyfooting”, he would spend hours creating “The Drone Effect”, by sellotaping down specific notes on his dad’s old Bontempi Organ.

Meanwhile, the purchase of an ancient electric guitar and fuzzbox from a local junk shop, along with the influence of The Velvet Underground’s debut album “The Velvet Underground & Nico” and a Beatles songbook, led him to start writing his own songs.

He also owned a bass guitar to which was added his elder sister’s nylon string acoustic. For percussion he used his mother’s knitting needles and Tupperware boxes.

His first live appearances were to the neighbourhood’s children, accompanied by his younger sister, Pam, in their back garden during the summer holidays.

David’s label went nameless until December 1980, when, with the advent of his first recordings as Sombre Reptiles, it was re-launched as David 14 Cassettes, the name referencing the call sign for the President’s plane in the John Carpenter movie “Escape from New York”.

In September 1991, Reptile Records was formed, based at the Edinburgh record shop of the same name. The Reptile imprint was operated from the shop and via Mail Order. 

In May 1996, David’s recording projects, the song-based Sombre Reptiles and soundscape-based Heavenly Music Corporation, were merged into Cloudland Blue Quartet.

Two years later, Reptile Records became Crispycat Recordings, publishing CD-Rs based on private orders placed on a word of mouth basis and from the extensive mailing list built up via Reptile.

The launch of the Crispycat website in July 2002 saw the long awaited resurgence of the label, with the first world-wide release of several CDs recorded post Reptile.

After five years away from live performance, David started gigging again as Cloudland Blue Quartet in 2003 but, in the last 10 years, has only very rarely performed, concentrating instead on recorded output.

Having said that, he does very occasionally front a reactivated Capital Models, his band from 1980, which, these days, plays covers sets around the music of David Bowie, Brian Eno, Roxy Music and Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground.

Until the winter of 2023/24, he had only ever played song-based sets live but now, for the first time, over 45 years after creating "The Drone Effect", he has started undertaking soundscape performances at selected venues around the country. 

On top of all the musicking, David also continues to maintain one of the world’s longest running web-based daily diaries, the one you can browse through on the main page - Cloudland Blue: A Diary, which he started writing on 5 March 2005.