Coldclear by Cloudland Blue Quartet

This is a very quiet LP.

In fact, it's so quiet, that I thought I was listening to it recently until I realised, around 10 minutes in, that I hadn't pressed “play”.

The origins of the LP date back to Xmas and New Year 1988/89.

I'd been working on a Sombre Reptiles LP, "Heavenview", for much of early 1988 with my musical colleague Peri Urban and, around the end of the year, he loaned me an FX pedal for a couple of weeks. It allowed for 1 second loops to be created with a reasonably long delay.

Over the period 1-5 January 1989, I recorded three C60 cassettes of material using this box, playing phrases on my guitar and my trusty Yamaha CS-5 synthesiser through it.

Each cassette was release individually on the David 14 Cassettes label in 1989.

In the early 2000s, I transferred my cassette back catalogue to digital but, it appears I couldn't be bothered to transfer the whole of each of these six 30 minute long tracks, as only 12-14 minute edits of each made into the digital domain.

Fast forward to early 2021 and I was finalising the sending of WAV files of my entire output from 1977-1989 to a German Record Company re a vinyl box set they are planning to release at some point during 2022.

From my diary, 22 February 2021 "One particular cassette (or rather three cassettes all told), recorded in 1989, of looped guitars and synths, got me thinking and I ended up doing long ambient mixes of the 6 excerpts I currently have digitally of those (the originals having also been transferred to Germany for listening)..."

I did nothing with these six 48-53 minute pieces and, indeed, kind of forgot all about them, until I stumbled across them again in August.

My first thought was for a short ambient LP (around 35-40 minutes) comprising the opening edits of each of the six tracks and I went ahead and created that.

And it was good.

But then I got to listening to the full pieces (available here if you download) and kept finding short sections which might make further good stand alone ambient tracks.

Those were going to be the bonus tracks for the short LP.

Soon, I had twenty six tracks altogether, lasting around two and a quarter hours and I thought it worked well and so promoted the previously deemed "bonuses" to full tracks.

I ordered them by their position within each of the longer tracks but in the same order of the tracks - so first track pt1, second track pt 1, third track pt 1 and so on.

Contrary to this chosen methodology though, you can see that the final six tracks on the album should really be the first six, but their fade ins are so long, I decided to move them to the end of the LP so that people hear them when they are attuned to the overall "lack of much happening".

(To hear the originally proposed 35 minute LP, play tracks 21 through to 26).

Many of the pieces on the album will appear to have absolutely nothing going on except a far off drone but, if you listen closely, you may hear what are, by definition, almost imperceptible changes in the ambience, created by the treatment. Others, of course, have more obvious elements of change to them.

All in all, I'm very pleased with this new record and hope you will enjoy it too.

As ever, thanks for listening, as that's what makes all the work worthwhile.

David Reilly
Edinburgh
2 September 2021

Tracklist

1.	Diverging, Vehicles (More Than Flesh Pt II)	4:53

2.	Everything, Looks (And Blood Can Bare Pt II)	5:05

3.	Mobile, Version (To Be As Sovereign Pt II)	5:24

4.	Releasing, Culture (Over Transmuted Ill Pt II)	4:30

5.	Cruel, Working (Like Patience on a Monument Pt II)	2:56

6.	Picture, Frames (Smiling at Grief Pt II)	4:55

7.	Largely, Suspect (More Than Flesh Pt III)	3:04

8.	On, Arrival (To Be As Sovereign Pt III)	5:48

9.	Her, Favourite (Over Transmuted Ill Pt III)	6:48

10.	Talking, Books (Like Patience on a Monument Pt III)	4:49

11.	Clever, Lateral (Smiling at Grief Pt III)	5:38

12.	Same, Room (More Than Flesh Pt IV)	4:22

13.	Some, Letters (To Be As Sovereign Pt IV)	5:35

14.	Write, Code (Over Transmuted Ill Pt IV)	4:21

15.	New, Criterion (Like Patience on a Monument Pt IV)	4:32

16.	Really, Crisp (Smiling at Grief Pt IV)	3:42

17.	Ever, Increasing (To Be As Sovereign Pt V)	7:05

18.	These, Things (Like Patience on a Monument Pt V)	3:07

19.	Freezing, Cold (Smiling at Grief Pt V)	5:49

20.	Wrong, Side (Like Patience on a Monument Pt VI)	4:23

21.	Cold, Clear (More Than Flesh Pt I)	6:34

22.	Heavy, Paper (And Blood Can Bear Pt I)	5:05

23.	Cold, Bright (To Be As Sovereign Pt I)	4:02

24.	Strong, Low (Over Transmuted Ill Pt I)	9:01

25.	It, Transpires (Like Patience on a Monument Pt I)	6:17

26.	Short, Sleep (Smiling At Grief Pt I)	6:56

Credits

released September 3, 2021

"Coldclear" is the 28th soundscapes album from Cloudland Blue Quartet (Crispycat 2109 - 3 September 2021)

Composed by David Reilly

Guitars, synthesisers, treatments, editing, sound manipulation, cover ("Magazine Valentine V6", 14 February 2021) and production by David Reilly for Crispycat Recordings.

Original source material comprises 12-14 minute edits, created at some point in the early 2000s, of six tracks spread across three C60 cassettes by The Heavenly Music Corporation, entitled “More Than Flesh and Blood Can Bear”, “To Be As Sovereign Over Transmuted Ill” and “Like Patience on a Statue, Smiling at Grief”, released on David 14 Cassettes in 1989. The edits were later released under the tilte “Cold Clear Morning”.

Recorded at Crispycat Studio, Edinburgh, UK, 1, 2, 3, 5 January 1989, treated 22 February 2021, edited 13-17 August 2021

(p) 2021 Crispycat Recordings © David Reilly 2021

Executive Producer : Anne Reilly

For best results, please listen on headphones, alone, in the dark

Bonus Material 295.16 (of which 169.28 is not included in the main album) (Download Only)

Disc 3: More Than Flesh (48:18)
Disc 4: And Blood Can Bear (48:16)
Disc 5: To Be As Sovereign (48:17)
Disc 6: Over Transmuted Ill (48:25)
Disc 7: Like Patience on a Monument (53:36)
Disc 8: Smiling At Grief (49:24)

License