Timeline: 2014
Younghusband covers Gun
London shoegaze quartet Younghusband cover Gun. It's the B- side of their Left Of The Rocks single. Lead singer Euan Hinshelwood in The Quietus:
"We covered the John Cale song because we’re all big fans of the Velvets and many of their solo albums, too. Lyrically ‘Gun’ is a great story – very dark, intriguing characters. We were never going to try and do a similar version to the original because it has an almost untouchable energy, full of amphetamine. We wanted to make it kind of spookier and warped."
Acting in "The Bridge"
Guest star in the Sorrowsworn episode of the FX tv series The Bridge, directed by Stefan Schwartz. He plays a caravan seller.
Billy Name: The Silver Age: Black and White Photographs
Contributes the forword - What's in a Name - to Billy Name: The Silver Age: Black and White Photographs from Andy Warhol's Factory, a book compiled by Dagon James.
"In the narration The Dream from the album Songs for Drella, we hear Andy's voice saying wouldn't tbe great to have some fun - and how he couldn't find Billy either 'he didn't hear me or he didn't want to answer. Which was so strange because even if I don't like reunions I've always loved Billy' - well, we all loved Billy. As I recall he was always in the Factory. The pimpernel of the silver ballroom - sleeping there as a wide eyed guard, then much later disappearing into his room for months at a time only ot emerge, to take pictures then retreat back into silent oblivion."
Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN
He performs at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN (March 28-30). The festival celebrates the avant-garde. Also on the bill: Steve Reich, Julia Holter, Susanna, Son Lux, Buke & Gase. He is interviewed the day before by Kyle Meredith, the music director of WFPK, for his Weekly Feed:
"I really had a bad reputation for not doing the same things twice, and really with a vengeance. People would be like, "is that song?" It's nice now to get people to expect that. I think I've worn a groove there that you don't know quite what it's going to be. But for me, I can't go on the road and do the same things all the time. Drives me nuts."
Keynote speaker @ Liverpool Sound City
Acts as keynote speaker at Liverpool Sound City (May 2). With a Q&A.
LOOP>>60Hz: Transmissions from The Drone Orchestra in London
John Cale and designer & director Liam Young joined forces for a new audio-visual collaboration, LOOP>>60Hz : Transmissions from The Drone Orchestra, at the Barbican in London on September 12 and 13, 2014, in conjuction with The Space as part of their Digital Revolution series:
Join two fearless innovators as the Barbican Theatre is transformed by a brand new audio-visual collaboration.
Musical pioneer John Cale believes so strongly in the power of sound that he once thought it was possible to alter the weather with musical frequencies. Now, for this world premiere performance, he joins forces with speculative architect and technology storyteller Liam Young to re-imagine another, increasingly pervasive, industrial innovation.
LOOP>>60Hz offers an unprecedented experience as John Cale and his band perform music from across his catalogue, expressly adapted to durational forms, unusual tunings and unorthodox audio delivery. Liam Young’s collection of drones escape their associations with surveillance and the military, becoming instead choreographed, disembodied instruments which take flight in the auditorium to create a profoundly immersive live music performance.
Set to explore and extend the link between art and technology like never before, LOOP>>60Hz will mark the final weekend of Digital Revolution – the Barbican’s immersive exhibition of art, design, film, music and videogames which will take over the Centre from Thursday 3 July.
‘Drone: a bleak tapestry of unholy noises, searing into the listeners ears and – with any luck – transporting them to a place they'll not want to leave for long while’ John Cale
Documentary maker Bevis Bowden was on hand to capture the rehearsals and conduct an interview after the two performances.
"The Academy In Peril" 4 Men With Beards vinyl reissue
The Academy In Peril is reissued on October 21 on 180 Gram Vinyl on specialty label 4 Men With Beards. Remastering by engineer Gary Hobish (A. Hammer Mastering). To put it mildly: it does not sound good. The album comes in the die-cut custom gatefold jacket, designed by Andy Warhol
Jamming with Patti Smith in Paris
He shares the bill with Patti Smith for a show at the Cartier Foundation in Paris, France on October 23. She joins him on stage for three songs: People Have The Power, Sister Ray and Pablo Picasso.
"If You Were Still Around" video
On October 27 a promo video for the new version of If You Were Still Around is released. The clip was directed by Abigail Portner and contains photos by Warhol Factory archivist Billy Name. This version can be found on the Music For A New Society + M:FANS album.
Christmas Truce music in Mesen
He performs newly composed music inspired by the Christmas Truce in 1914 during the Great War. Time Stands Still would be released on the Mercy album (2023). The music of the instrumental Caligula would be used for And Death Shall Have No Dominion, a poem by Dylan Thomas. The world premiere is at the Concerttent Peace Village in Mesen, Belgium on December 20, 2014. He played Paris 1919 in full in the second set.