Timeline: 2018
I Keep A Close Watch on Robert Kirby album
(I Keep A) Close Watch is included on the When The Day Is Done - The Orchestrations Of Robert Kirby compilation, released on February 23. Kirby wrote the string and choir arrangments for the song that was released on Helen of Troy.
Cale and Kirby had first ran into each other during the recording sessions of Nick Drake's Bryter Layter album at Sound Techniques in London in 1970.
Days of Steam on Lady Bird soundtrack
Days of Steam, from his album The Academy In Peril, is included in the soundtrack for the new movie Lady Bird. It is the second time that this track was used in a movie, after being featured in Paul Morrissey's Heat in 1972, as part of a trade for the cover by Andy Warhol.
The soundtrack also features songs by Alanis Morissette, Haim, The Monkees, Reel Big Fish, Love, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Ani Difranco. The album is released on Lakeshore Records.
Paul Sanchez est revenu! soundtrack
Composes the soundtrack for Paul Sanchez est revenu!, a movie by French film director and screenwriter Patricia Mazuy. They collaborated before when he wrote the score for Saint-Cyr (2000) and Sport de Filles (2012).
John Cale (2018-1964): A Futurespective in London
He performs two career-spanning shows @ Barbican Hall in London (March 9-10) with the London Contemporary Orchestra and the Houzse Gospel Choir. The shows are billed as John Cale (2018-1964): A Futurespective:
Nimbly navigating both the Experimental and Pop worlds, John Cale performs a career-spanning set with help from the London Contemporary Orchestra and the House Gospel Choir.
Since before his time as the Velvet Underground's Avant-Gardist-in-residence, Cale has been a totally uncompromising artist, embracing manifold musical approaches across his remarkable career. Tonight, joined by the LCO, he's exploring the enormous scope of his musical output; playing selections from the Velvet Underground, the proto-minimalist songs of The Dream Syndicate - his collaboration with La Monte Young and others - and the richly enigmatic music from his landmark solo albums.
His is a difficult career to summarise succinctly - who else could have collaborated with both Terry Riley and the Happy Mondays? He's a Classical composer and Pop genius; virtuosic violist and vitriolic Rock 'n' Roller; moody Drone artist and pastoral Welsh songwriter.
Velvet Underground 50th Anniversary Memorial Concer in Shanghai
On July 11 he re-imagines tracks from The Velvet Underground & Nico and the bulk of White Light/White Heat once again at Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai, China. Billed as a Velvet Underground 50th Anniversary Memorial Concert.
"The Velvet Underground were art-rock pioneers, redefining what rock music could mean and do, casting a long shadow over everything from post-punk to new-wave for the next five decades. Their debut album in 1967, with German singer Nico, would go on to become one of the most influential albums of all time. Music producer Brian Eno said that "The Velvet Underground didn't sell many records, but everyone who bought one went out and started a band." To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra has curated a concert with founding member John Cale and longtime collaborator Joey Maramba, and special guests like Zhang Shouwang (Carsick Cars, White +), Yang Yulong (Chui Wan), Yang Fan (Ourself Beside Me) and Li Qing (Snapline) filling out the roster."
End Of The Road Festival interview
He is interviewed by American musician and songwriter Ezra Furman at the End Of The Road Festival in Salisbury, UK. He performed with an orchestra at the festival on September 2.
Erin Rae covers "You Know More Than I Know"
American country singer Erin Rae covers You Know More Than I Know a few hours before Cale plays at the End Of The Road Festival during a "secret session" at the festival.
"Pablo Picasso" on Phil Collins box set
Pablo Picasso, the Modern Lovers cover from the Helen Of Troy album, is included on the Phil Collins 4CD box set Plays Well with Others, a collection of songs on which he was the drummer for hire. The set is released on September 28.
The Velvet Underground Experience in NYC: October 10 - December 23
Two years after The Velvet Underground - New York Extravaganza exhibition in Paris, the artefacts, sounds and movies get another outing in the band's hometown New York. Renamed The Velvet Underground Experience, it opens for the public on October 10 at 718 Broadway.
He attends the private opening night party on October 9 with avant-garde musician Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed's widow. He does a Q&A on October 11.
New song "Story of Blood" in Bexhill
He performs the new song Story of Blood at a show at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill On Sea, UK on November 29. It will become a regular fixture at his concerts, before being released as a single in 2022 and being included on the Mercy album in 2023.