After leaving The Velvet Underground in 1968, John Cale put together an illustrious solo career that included album-length collaborations with Terry Riley, Lou Reed, and Brian Eno, as well as his classic Paris 1919. In 1982, he released the austere Music For A New Society, one of his most challenging—and well-received—works.
Now, Cale has announced M:FANS, a reworking of that classic album. According to a press release, Cale samples the original Music For A New Society on this new recording, building fresh soundscapes on the foundation he set thirty years ago. Those old sessions were reportedly among the most difficult of Cale’s career, and M:FANS seems to be a way for Cale to heal old wounds. “It was time to decimate the despair from [the] 1981 [recording sessions] and breathe new energy, re-write the story,” he said in a statement. “A fertile ground for exorcism of things gone wrong and the realization they are unchangeable. From sadness came the strength of fire!!!”
In addition to the band that played on his last record, 2012’s Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood, Cale was joined in the studio by Amber Coffman (Dirty Projectors), who sings on the album’s lead single, “Close Watch.” Cale today released a video for that track directed by Abby Portner, who directed the video for his “If You Were Still Around” last year.
You can watch the video for “Close Watch” below.
M:FANS is out January 22 on Domino.
