Front Porch by Blue Sun Chasing/Edward Spark/Cloudland Blue Quartet

"Front Porch" is a collaboration between Blue Sun Chasing (BSC) (synthesisers and field recording), Edward Spark (synthesisers and rhythm bed) and Cloudland Blue Quartet (CBQ) (guitar, piano and field recording).

It was originally released to Bandcamp by BSC but has since been deleted.

Ahead of the CBQ version of "Front Porch", due later this year, Crispycat is re-releasing the LP.

Original Sleeve Note from Matthew Nowik AKA Blue Sun Chasing :

"I had an idea for a piece using a field recording I made from my front porch as the backdrop for a longer-form piece where instead of traditional track breaks, I would just use the ambient noises to serve as filler until the next piece started.

After I was finished, it just felt like it needed something I could not provide, but I wasn't able to extrapolate exactly WHAT specifically it needed. I messaged Edward Spark and asked if he would take a listen and then do his thing, and he agreed. I also asked if he would then send it on to David Reilly (aka Cloudland Blue Quartet) for more of the same. Again, I gave no direction: I felt once they heard the piece, all secrets would be known. And I was right.

Please enjoy in a quiet place, with headphones, and preferably a cat on your lap or nearby."

Matthew Nowik, 17 March 2023


Contemporaneous note from David Reilly AKA Cloudland Blue Quartet:

"Really pleased with the way this project has turned out. As I type, I am listening to the first bonus track, which is Edward Spark's mix of Blue Sun Chasing's initial elements - and it's very good. These bonuses will provide good insights as to how we arrived at the CBQ and Edward Spark mixes of all the material which ended up on the final LP.

So, for example, the 2nd bonus track adds in Edward Spark's synths and rhythm beds and people can hear how that then moves the project on. This was how I first heard the piece.

As the bonuses progress, you can hear how I worked to integrate, initially, elements of guitarscapes recorded in 2017 and, then (ultimately discarded) elements from 2020. Then, I decided to remove the guitar altogether and, instead, record a brand new piano piece specifically for this project. In the end, both the initial guitar element and the new piano piece make an appearance in both my final mix and Sparky's 24 hour mix."

David Reilly, 18 March, 2023

A quartet in name only, initially influenced by Fripp & Eno's "No Pussyfooting" and The Velvet Underground's debut, songwriter & soundscaper David Reilly started musicking in 1977 by creating drones using sellotape on the keys of his dad's Bontempi Organ. The subsequent junk shop purchases of an electric guitar & fuzzbox and the acquisition of an old Beatles songbook, led him into songwriting...

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