Although John Cale is likely best known as a founding member of the Velvet Underground, Cale actually left the group in 1968, and has spent the next four-plus decades composing music, producing records, collaborating with artists from across the stylistic spectrum and consistently pushing boundaries. A classically trained musician born and raised in Wales, he played viola – amongst several other instruments – and eventually earned a scholarship to study music in the United States. Moving to New York City in 1963, he quickly entered the city’s avant-garde circuit, performing alongside heavyweights like John Cage and La Monte Young before linking up with Lou Reed and starting the Velvet Underground in 1964. The creative tension between the two was said to be the driving force behind the band’s seminal first two albums, *The Velvet Underground & Nico* and *White Light/White Heat*, with Cale providing many of those records’ more experimental flourishes.
