John Cale is back with a brand new single called ‘Night Crawling‘. It’s a great ponderous, sweeping and rich sound he’s conjured up with a strong electronic feel. The bass sends sub-sonic ripples through the floating pads and twinkling synths while Cale weaves his stentorian melodies across it all.

The animated video by Mickey Miles features Cale and David Bowie hanging out in New York in the mid 70s. Cale says of the song’s inspiration:

“There was this period around mid-late 70s when David Bowie 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.”

Cale’s been on my radar a lot of late as I’ve been digging into and thoroughly enjoying the Jokermen podcast series where they spend an episode dissecting every John Cale and Lou Reed solo albums, plus the VU catalogue. In terms of Cale, they’ve already covered Vintage Violence, Church of Anthrax + Academy In Peril (for Patreon subscribers) Paris 1919 and Fear. Check out the series HERE.