Solo albums

Mercy

About this album

Released on January 20, 2023. Domino Records. CD, 2LP, limited 2LP + 7". Slightly different running order for the vinyl versions. Quite a few guest musicians were invited to contribute: Weyes Blood, Animal Collective, Sylvan Esso, Tei Shi, Actress, Laurel Halo, and Fat White Family.

Tracks (CD):

1. Mercy
2. Marilyn Monroe's Legs (Beauty Elsewhere) - feat. Actress
3. Noise of You
4. Story of Blood - feat. Weyes Blood
5. Time Stands Still - feat. Sylvan Esso
6. Moonstruck (Nico's Song)
7. Everlasting Days - feat. Animal Collective
8. Night Crawling
9. Not The End of the World
10. The Legal Status of Ice - feat. Fat White Family
11. I Know You're Happy - feat. Tei Shi
12. Out Your Window - feat. Tony Allen

Tracks (2LP - black & violet translucent versions):

Side A:

1. Mercy
2. Marilyn Monroe's Legs (Beauty Elsewhere) - feat. Actress
3. Noise of You

Side B:

1. Story of Blood - feat. Weyes Blood
2. Time Stands Still - feat. Sylvan Esso
3. Moonstruck (Nico's Song)

Side C:

1. Everlasting Days - feat. Animal Collective
2. Night Crawling
3. Not The End of the World

Side D:

1. I Know You're Happy - feat. Tei Shi
2. The Legal Status of Ice - feat. Fat White Family
3. Out Your Window - feat. Tony Allen

The limited 2LP (1000 copies) on blue transparent vinyl comes with a 16-page booklet and bonus 7" with two tracks:

1. Pretty People
2. Mercy (Mercy-full Mix)

Musicians (per track):

Mercy
John Cale: vocals, synths, piano, drums, bass
Laurel Halo: effects, synths, additional vocals

Marilyn Monroe's Legs (Beauty Elsewhere)
John Cale: vocals, synths, piano, drums, noises
Actress: synths, effects, additional production
Matt Fish: cello
Ian Walker: double bass

Noise of You
John Cale: vocals, synths, vintage keys, drums
Deantoni Parks: acoustic drums, timpanis
Dustin Boyer: guitar
Joey Maramba: bass
Eric Gorfain, Daphne Chen, Marissa Kuney, Jenny Takamatsu: violins
Caroline Buckman, Leah Katz, Rodney Wirtz: violas
Matt Fish: cello
Ian Walker: double bass

Story of Blood
John Cale: vocals, piano, drums, bass
Weyes Blood: vocals
Joey Maramba: bowed bass
Dustin Boyer: bass
Nita Scott: additional drums
Eric Gorfain, Daphne Chen, Marissa Kuney, Jenny Takamatsu: violins
Caroline Buckman, Leah Katz, Rodney Wirtz: violas
Matt Fish: cello
Ian Walker: double bass

Time Stands Still
John Cale: vocals, Swarmatron, vintage keyso, drums, bass
Deantoni Parks: additional synths
Joey Maramba: bass
Sylvan Esso, Amelia Meath: vocals
Nick Sanborn: acoustic guitar
Caroline Buckman, Leah Katz, Rodney Wirtz: violas
Matt Fish: cello
Ian Walker: double bass

Moonstruck (Nico's Song)
John Cale: vocals, keys, bass
Destani Wolfe: backing vocals
Eric Gorfain, Daphne Chen, Marissa Kuney, Jenny Takamatsu: violins
Caroline Buckman, Leah Katz, Rodney Wirtz: violas
Matt Fish: cello
Ian Walker: double bass

Everlasting Days
John Cale: vocals, synths, piano, drums, sub bass, bass
Deantoni Parks: acoustic drums, electronic drums
Dustin Boyer: noises
Animal Collective: vocals, synths
Eric Gorfain, Daphne Chen, Marissa Kuney, Jenny Takamatsu: violins
Caroline Buckman, Leah Katz, Rodney Wirtz: violas
Matt Fish: cello
Ian Walker: double bass

Night Crawling
John Cale: vocals, synths, piano, drums, bass
Deantoni Parks: additional drums
Dustin Boyer: backing Vocals, additional production

Not The End of the World
John Cale: vocals, synths, piano, drums, bass
TokiMonsta: effects:
Nita Scott: additional percussion:

The Legal Status of Ice:
John Cale: vocals, guitar, keys, bass, drums
Dustin Boyer: backing vocals, guitar
Nita Scott: backing vocals, additional drum programming
Fat White Family: Lias Saoudi: vocals; Nathan Saoudi; juno, backing vocals; Jack Everett: acoustic drums, backing vocals; Adam J Harmer: guitar, backing vocals

I Know You're Happy:
John Cale: vocals, synths, acoustic guitar, drums, bass
Dustin Boyer: rhythm guitar, guitar solo
Dev Hynes: acoustic guitar
Tei Shi: vocals

Out Your Window:
John Cale: vocals, piano, additional strings
Dustin Boyer: guitar
Eric Gorfain, Daphne Chen, Marissa Kuney, Jenny Takamatsu: violins
Caroline Buckman, Leah Katz, Rodney Wirtz: violas
Matt Fish: cello
Ian Walker: double bass

Pretty People:
John Cale: vocals, vintage keys, drone, bass, percussion

Other credits(per track):

Mercy
Mixed by Mikaelin "Blue" BlueSpruce
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles
Additional recording: EastWest Studios, Los Angeles
Marilyn Monroe's Legs (Beauty Elsewhere)
Mixed by Seven Davis Jr
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles
Additional recording SNAP Studios, London
Engineer: Ben McLusky
Noise of You
Mixed by Mikaelin "Blue" BlueSpruce
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

Story of Blood
Mixed by Mikaelin "Blue" BlueSpruce
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

Time Stands Still
Mixed by TokiMonsta
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

Moonstruck (Nico's Song)
Mixed by Seven Davis Jr
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

Everlasting Days
Mixed by Justin Raisen
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

Night Crawling
Mixed by Seven Davis Jr
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

Not The End of the World
Mixed by Seven Davis Jr
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

The Legal Status of Ice:
Mixed by Justin Raisen
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles
Additional recording: SNAP Studios, London
Engineer: Ben McLusky

I Know You're Happy:
Mixed by Mikaelin "Blue" BlueSpruce Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles
Additional recording at Vox Studio, Los Angeles
Engineer: Michael Harris

Out Your Window:
Mixed by Justin Raisen
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

Pretty People:
Mixed by Seven Davis, JR
Recorded by Dustin Boyer at ARM Studios, Los Angeles

Singles

Three singles, all of them accompanied by a promo video, were released prior to the album. Pretty People got a video in 2024.

Night Crawling

On August 1, 2022 the first single is released: Night Crawling. He looks back to the 70s when he roamed the streets with David Bowie, who is featured in the animated video made by Mickey Miles. Cale is pictured wearing the suit that was pictured on the cover of Paris 1919:

"There was this period around mid-late '70s when David and I would run into each other in NY. There was plenty of talk about getting some work done but of course we'd end up running the streets, sometimes until we couldn't keep a thought in our heads, let alone actually get a song together! One night we managed to meet up for a benefit concert where I taught him a viola part so we could perform together. When I wrote 'Night Crawling,' it was a reflective moment of particular times. That kind of NYC that held art in its grip, strong enough to keep it safe and dangerous enough to keep it interesting. I always figured we'd have another go at the two of us recording together, this time without the interference of being perpetually off our heads! The thing about creating music is the ability to divine a thought or feeling even when reality says it's a logical impossibility."

Story of Blood

On October 19, 2022 the second single is released: Story of Blood, a collaboration with Weyes Blood, nom-de-plume of American singer Natalie Laura Mering. He digs deep into his bag of sonic tricks and Mering added layers of mesmerizing vocals. Starting out as a gentle piano ballad the track explores both the back roads and the mainstream guise of art-rock and minimalist electronics. The video was directed by Jethro Waters.

Noise of You

On January 11, 2023 the third single is released: Noise Of You, a surprisingly gentle love song about trying to win back his loved one. It's an amalgam of electronics, spoken word and stacked vocals, some of them with an almost choral delivery, but he changes in the mood in the last seconds of the track, when he demands to be heard. It is another taste from his the new album Mercy. The video was directed by Pepi Ginsberg, with animations created by Studio Junbi, and photos and home videos supplied by Nita Scott.

Pretty People

On February 5, 2024 a video for Pretty People is released. The track can be found on the bonus 7" that is included on limited 2LP on blue transparent vinyl edition of Mercy.

Director: Abigail Portner
Producer: Nita Scott ARM Productions
Stop-Motion Animation: Dustin Boyer
Video portraits / cast: Danielle Thompson, Lindsey Znosko Balke, Brian Betancourt, Skyler Skjelset, Brian Degraw, Ivan Berko, Tatiana Cabral, Nina Mehta

© 1999- Hans Werksman