Slightly on the up...

Playlist
Various - Acquisitions 2012/2013
Bob Marley - Ammunition Dub Collection
Bob Marley - Sun is Shining
Bob Marley - Lively Up Yourself
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Through the Day
Castelnuovo-Tedesco - Piano Music

The uploading of the Soundscapes side of the CBQ back catalogue to Bandcamp continued apace...

At lunchtime, to HMV...

A disc of dub plates by Bob Marley and the Wailers enticed and, this evening, prompted some reggae based listening...

"Broadchurch" continued to be stretched out beyond it's feasible length but continued to slightly entertain...

Pre Marley in the lugs, it was over to the hospital to visit my mum...

Comparatively speaking, much improved but still quite ill...

The pneumonia has worsened but her kidneys are now almost back to normal, meaning that antibiotics can be boosted...

This is good...

Meanwhile some pics from Anne's trip to Amsterdam...

She was plagued by freezing weather and dodgy batteries...

This straight from the CBQ school of food photography...

The canals...

Two of the best things in the world...

A friendly cat...

...and apple cakes with cream...

Concertgebouw..

Steedelijk...

Reichsmuseum...

Houseboat museum, on a houseboat...

Westerkirke...

T'smals...

...complete with poster of missing raccoon (!!) in the window...

The Barking fish...

A restored man'o War...

...and a visit to the Zoo...

Wish I could have been there too...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Mum on the up, slightly...

Anticipating the return...

Playlist
Alban Berg Quartett - Hommage
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Semi-Automatic
Various - Top 10 Albums of 1972
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Betonmusik
Various - Top Ten Albums of the Month 2013
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Reinhardt Richter Rosenquist
Various - Music 1951-2012
Cloudland Blue Quartet - 04 04 04
Various - The Perfumed Garden
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Through the Day
Brumel - Missa Ecce Terra Motus
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Sospiri
Radio String Quartet - Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra
Corigliani - String Quartets
Carl Craig & Moritz von Oswald - Recomposed
Messiaen - Catalogue d'Oiseaux
B'Rock - Vivaldi/Cage 8 Seasons
Michel Oudar - Cahier pour Michel Oudar (Berio)
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Riverleaves

Another 2:30am finish last night but up again at 8 and to the PC to continue the migration of my music to Bandcamp...

This took up most of the day from dawn till dusk and beyond...

Other than a visit to the hospital, that was about it...

This, the view from the ward window...



During said visit, mum perked up a bit and began to look a little like her old self...

Still very ill though...

In the evening, a tasty pasta, chorizo and peach (yes, peach) dish was concocted and enjoyed...

Meg the Black Cat continued to enjoy the box which arrived yesterday...



Anne due to land at 10...

Pics tomorrow...

Highlight of the Day : Return of the Exec Producer...

What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger - unless you're eighty two...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Riverleaves
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Events One and Two
Piston - Chamber Music
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Events Three and Four
B'Rock - Vivaldi/Cage 8 Seasons
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Gold Leaf Deep Red
Phil Manzanera - Vozero
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Over the Blue and Gold
Mathilde Santing - Mathilde Santing
Mathilde Santing - Beauty of the Ritual
Mathilde Santing - Ballads
Herman Van Veen - Liederbuch
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Frozen Architecture
Mathilde Santing - Ne9en Levens
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Semi-Automatic
King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic

Finally hit the sack last night at 2:30am but was up at 8:30 and back to the PC uploading the back catalogue to Bandcamp which, hopefully, will be the last home for it...

Easily accessible, shows up on all operating systems - streaming and/or buying available and I can add merch such as actual CDs, special editions, T Shirts, mugs, postcards etc etc...

And mail out discount codes to those and such as those...

Out mid morning to pick up a parcel from Yodel which had failed to be delivered three times this week...

Ironically, given the move to digital downloads over physicality, it was 100 CDs to be filled with the new album...

Back home, Meg the Black cat enjoyed the box, as is her wont...

Meanwhile, the postie brought the prototype "Riverleaves" T Shirt and postcards...

...along with the first of a few classical CDs on their way here - a disc of chamber music by Walter Piston...

Fine stuff indeed...

New artwork created for some of the older soundscape albums...

Unlike MP3 uploads, for Bandcamp it's lossless only, so full WAV files are being directed through the ether to their servers - which take an age...

Mid afternoon, a Vivaldi and cage soundtracked drive over to the hospital to visit my mum...

She is in  a pretty bad way right now, at the lowest I've seen her I think...

Since being admitted on Wednesday afternoon she has gone from this...

...to this...

She's such a natural pessimist that it's difficult to try and convince her she will get better...

A very depressing hour and a half out of what must be, for her, day upon day of depression...

Later on, following her visit this evening, sister Sheila reported a slight improvement in matters...

Back home, the uploading continued on into the night, interrupted only by a watch of the last in Howard Goodall's Story of Music series and a Manzanera soundtracked pick up of some Chinese food...

A coincidental text from sister Pam's chum Debbie was followed by a phone call and a chat re my mum and, of course, Pam...

Debbie advised the ladies of Hemel get together every couple of months, drink wine and toast Pam with champagne and talk about the old days...

In honour of Anne's stay in Amsterdam, some Mathilde Santing and Herman Van Veen sampled even later on and here I am now finishing off one last upload ("Frozen Architecture") before heading for bed...

Post some apples and Pepsi Max...

To bed with King Crimson's 40 years old today album on the cans, man...

Highlight of the Day : Working...

Early issuance...

Playlist

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Riverleaves

Early morning, working on a final, final version of the new album...

Ready...

A walk into town after parking half way...

Anne is off to Amsterdam with Lynn for a wee break...

Eight years ago today, Meg the Black Cat officially moved in to Crispycat Towers...

In the afternoon, to the hospital...

Mum is pretty grim, though probably better than yesterday - but just terrible...

Opening words? "I'm dying..."

Hard to see beyond the current position but need to really...

Maybe things'll have picked up in a few days...

"Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and the last of three BBC4 "The Sound and the Fury" documentaries on 20th Century Music entertained early evening...

Sheila reported later on, after her visit to mum, a much the same scenario as my own...

Later, working on uploading the new album to Bandcamp (see adjacent entry)...

Release date set as 29 April but anyone can buy the download right now...

With Anne away, I can stay up all night but it's now 1am and I'm knackered...

Lights out perhaps methinks...

Highlight of the Day : Latest work out into the world, early...

Riverleaves Pre-release

The new Cloudland Blue Quartet album, "Riverleaves" - the first full soundscapes release since December 2005 - is on pre-release over at Bandcamp - official release date is 29 April...



Take a listen - or buy it already even...


The album comes as two tracks, side one and side two, with each comprising a suite of soundscapes:-

SIDE ONE (25:32)

Riverleaves pt 1

Time Waits

No Hiding Place

Never Coming Back

Nearly There

Riverleaves pt 2

SIDE TWO (24:21)

Gradually Coming Round

Take Everything

Not Forgetting

Riverleaves pt 3

Transfiguration

Written and Recorded at Crispycat, 16-20 December 2012

Contains Intentional Distortion and Clicks
Samples, Treatments, Production & Design By David Reilly
©2013 David Reilly (p) 2013 Crispycat Recordings
Executive Producer : Anne Reilly
Catalogue No : Crispycat 1301

Gradual amelioration...

Playlist
David Bowie - The Next Day
Various - Best of 2012
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Ampersand
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Anotherhappyday
King Crimson - Thrak

Trying to remain calm and normal as my mum lies in hospital...

An early morning call elicits the info that she has had a settled night and the docs are pleased with progress..

So, out into a lovely, cold day...

..to Starlightnight Street...

Some more extremely cheap classical CDs are winging their way to Crispycat Towers...

In the afternoon a return to the infirmary for Anne and I...

Mum looks pretty terrible and is very short of breath and still a little confused on matters I'd judge - but much better than when I left her earlier this morning...

The ward sister advised the docs are very pleased with her response thus far to the treatment and she will hopefully go to a ward soon...

We left with sister Sheila due to pop in later this evening...

Anne is off to a long ago booked ballet with chum Debbie this evening and we had an hour or so to spare before that meet so we popped to new arts venue Summerhall and were duly impressed...

With the cafe...

With the installations...

The decor...

The wee, as yet unvisited, pub...

The big chimney...

The posters...

And an excellent exhibition of Josef Beuys artifacts from the Richard DeMarco Archive...

I have time for the much maligned and, in hindsight, visionary Richard DeMarco...

He is the same age as my mum...

A purchase at the shop...

...some leaflet collection and out into the now cold and windy early evening...

Anne off to the ballet...

Me home for some listening and catching up on matters and giving news re mum to interested parties...

Back into town late on to take the ladies home after a good night...

Keeping my mind off matters...

Highlight of the Day : Mum a bit better...