Auden by Cloudland Blue Quartet

The creation of this LP inadvertently started with the death of Burt Bacharach. On the announcement of his passing, I was in the midst of a new project to record "songs I like" (some of which have now been released as "GLAM!") and, so, there were many by Mr B, written with Hal David, which came into that bracket.

I sourced some tracks and set about recording 8 Bacharach songs - it would have been 9 but I discovered I don't really "know" "The Look of Love" despite loving it.

So it goes.

And so, a new CBQ EP was issued on Bandcamp.

However, two days later, when I googled "Cloudland Blue Bandcamp", the first thing that came up was an offer from Bandcamp to report one of the songs for possible copyright infringement, or, indeed, my whole site.

So I took the Bacharach EP down (but see below!)

Following that disappointment, I set about working on this LP, a new idea, setting the poetry of W H Auden to piano music, re two books of his texts bought a while back, most likely with just such a thing in mind.

On the first day of recording, one new piece, "Voltaire at Ferny", which closes out the album, with synth and rhythm track also included, was created.

The next day, I threw myself into the project and recorded vocals for another 7 pieces, with the intention of adding further instrumentation at some point.

By the end of the morning, I had the beginnings of a new 8 track song-based LP but, it seemed, still with plenty of work to do.

I moved on and worked, recorded and released five other projects in the meantime ("Saturn Sleet Rise Effect", "Dissolution III", the aforementioned "GLAM!", "Bartok" and "The Neu! Variations"), along with collaborations and remixes for various music associates.

As for "Auden", I decided not to re-record the vocals but to try and use those first takes to retain that spontaneity. It took at least four different mixes before I was satisfied with the relationship between my voice and the piano.

But, at last, five months on from the quick recording process, the album is ready - now with the added bonuses for downloaders of versions of each song with a rhythm bed, which gives a whole new dynamic to the pieces, along with instrumental ambient mixes (almost 2 hours of extra music for downloaders).

This may seem like a strange release from Cloudland Blue Quartet but it's one I am really enjoying listening to at present and hope you will too!

David Reilly
Edinburgh
6 July 2023

P.S. If you purchase "Auden", please e-mail me at crispycat@hotmail.com and I'll send you the now deleted "Bacharach & David" 8 song EP as a further bonus!

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...

crispycat.co.uk
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