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

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

musician and composer

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, 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 styles across rock, dr ...

. 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 ...

. 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 the 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 i ...

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

Amber Coffman Amber Dawn Coffman (born June 15, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California, formerly based in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. She was formerly a guitarist for Sleeping People, and was later a guitarist and voca ...

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 and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

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 playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

) – 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 rock musician John Cale. He also collaborated with many other artists, such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michelle Branch, Andrew Dorff, and Michael Lan ...

– 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 TV/film-scoring duo We ...

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

Alex Thomas Alex Thomas (born 10 October 1978) is an English drummer who performs with Squarepusher and Air. He also performed with John Cale (2012–2013, 2023). Thomas joined Bolt Thrower in August 1997. He played drums on ''Mercenary'' and the ''Into t ...

– drums, samples *

Matt Fish Matthew Edward Fish (born November 18, 1969) is an American former 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 (born May 3, 1980) is an American multi-instrumentalist, session musician, arranger, composer, music director, producer, DJ, orchestral conductor and educator. He has contributed to over 500 recordings and scored for televi ...

– viola *Thomas Lea – viola *

Jessy Greene Jessy Greene is an American violinist, cellist and vocalist. She is a former member of Geraldine Fibbers and the Jayhawks. Career A native of Sheffield in western Massachusetts, Greene started playing the violin at the age of four. During high ...

– 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