''M:FANS'' is the sixteenth solo studio album by

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

musician and composer

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

. It was released in January 2016 on the Double Six Records imprint of

Domino Recording Company Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...

. Produced by Cale, it features new versions of songs from his 1982 album ''

Music for a New Society ''Music for a New Society'' is the eighth solo studio album by Welsh musician John Cale, released in September 1982 by ZE Records and Island Records. With the suggestion from ZE Records owner Michael Zilkha, Cale performed the album mostly improv ...

''. "Close Watch" was the album's lead single. It was released in November 2015 and features

Amber Coffman Amber Dawn Coffman (born June 15, 1982) is an American musician, singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California, formerly based in Brooklyn, New York. A former member of Sleeping People, Coffman is best known as a former guitarist and vocal ...

from

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The b ...

Background

In a statement Cale recounted the process of making the album, and how the 2013 death of former bandmate and collaborator

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

had informed it:

Losing Lou oo painful to understandforced me to upend the entire recording process and begin again...a different perspective - a new sense of urgency to tell a story from a completely opposite point of view - what was once sorrow, was now a form of rage. A fertile ground for exorcism of things gone wrong and the realization they are unchangeable. From sadness came the strength of fire!!!

Accolades

Track listing

All tracks composed by John Cale; except where indicated. #"Prelude" – 2:17 #"If You Were Still Around" (Cale,

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

) – 5:18 #"Taking Your Life in Your Hands" – 5:43 #"Thoughtless Kind" – 5:27 #"Sanctus (Sanities Mix)" – 5:19 #"Broken Bird" – 5:10 #"Chinese Envoy" – 3:51 #"Changes Made" – 3:54 #"Library of Force" – 3:09 #"Close Watch" – 5:15 #"If You Were Still Around (Choir Reprise)" (Cale, Shepard) – 4:44 #"Back to the End" – 3:34

Personnel

*John Cale – vocals, voice, noises, keyboards, organ, piano, electric piano, guitar, electric guitar, programmed guitar, bass, programming, synthesizer, drums, viola, samples, production, recording, mixing *

Dustin Boyer Dustin Boyer is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is a longtime collaborator of Welsh musician John Cale. He also collaborated with many other artists, such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michelle Branch, Andrew Dorff, and Michael Landau. ...

– guitar, guitar synthesizer, bass, loops, programming, drum machine, drum programming, drums, mixing, recording *

Deantoni Parks Deantoni Parks (born November 2, 1977) is an American new wave/avant-garde/experimental musician. He is the co-founder, co-producer and drummer of the New York band KUDU along with artist Sylvia Black, and one half of the writing duo We Are Dar ...

– keyboards, noises, loops *Joey Maramba – synth bass *Ralph Esposito – synth bass *

Alex Thomas Alex Thomas (born 10 October 1978) is an English drummer from Lutterworth, Leicestershire, who performs with Squarepusher and Air. He also performed with John Cale (2013). Thomas joined Bolt Thrower on 21 August 1997. He played drums on ''Merce ...

– drums, samples *

Matt Fish Matthew Edward Fish (born November 18, 1969) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Washington ...

– cello *

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is a Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, session musician, arranger, composer, music director, producer, DJ, orchestral conductor and educator. He has contributed to over 500 recordings and scored for television and fi ...

– viola *Thomas Lea – viola *

Jessy Greene Jessy Greene is a violinist, cellist and vocalist from St. Paul, Minnesota. She was a former member of Geraldine Fibbers and The Jayhawks. Career A native of Sheffield in western Massachusetts, Jessy started playing the violin at the age of fou ...

– violin *Chris Bautista – trumpet *

– vocals on "Close Watch" *New Direction Church – choir *Benjamin Goodman – choir director *William Arthur George Cale – voice *Margaret Cale – voice ;Technical *Adam Moseley – mixing, recording *Nita Scott – mixing, executive producer

Charts

References

{{Authority control John Cale albums Albums produced by John Cale 2016 albums Double Six Records albums