Devendra Banhart (Born 30th May 1981 in Houston, Texas, but brought up in Venezuela) is a folk singer-songwriter whose first few records were released on the young god records label from New York City. His most recent CD was released by Warner Brothers. He is one of the most popular artists to come out of the "new weird america" movement, which includes performers such as Faun Fables, Viking Moses, Jack Rose, Jana Hunter, Arborea, The MV & EE Medicine Show, Currituck Co., Six Organs of Admittance, and The Royal We, among others. He also often joins the band known as Vetiver. Banhart is considered to have an eclectic style, with many of his songs seemingly following a stream-of-consciousness vein, being hard to decipher and non-literal. His music tends to consist of fairly simple guitar melodies with minimal other instrumentation, and his lyrical themes are often surreal and naturalistic. His involvement in the Los Angeles artist community is reflected in Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, released in September 2007. He gained some underground notoriety in New York for performing several of his early shows with underwear on his head for the duration of the performance. Banhart's most recent tour of the United States saw him perform with his full band, which is currently known as Power Mineral. Power Mineral included Andy Cabic (Vetiver), Greg Rogove (Priestbird), Noah Georgeson, Luckey Remington, Pete Newsom, Otto Hauser (Vetiver, Currituck Co., Espers, Nick Castro), Kevin Barker (Currituck Co.), and others. read more

Devendra Banhart (b. May 30, 1981, in Houston, Texas) is a Venezuelan-American folk rock singer-songwriter and musician. Banhart's music has been classified as indie folk, psych folk, and New Weird America; his lyrics are often surreal and naturalistic. Though born in the U.S., Banhart was raised in Caracas, Venezuela from 2 to 13 years old. [1] Years later he gained popularity while living in San Francisco after attending the San Francisco Art Institute and further gained popularity when he subsequently moved to New York City to record under Young God Records, based in New York City. Banhart currently lives in Los Angeles. read more

Growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, and Los Angeles, Devendra Banhart was always playing music and drawing. But it wasn't until his brief stay at the San Francisco Art Institute that the disciplines became his constant companions. With the encouragement of poet and SFAI professor Bill Berskon, Banhart began experimenting with all kinds of art. He also began recording songs around that same time, usually on shoddy, hand-me-down four-track machines. Brief, half-finished, or written in stream-of-consciousness form, the recordings weren't initially intended for release. But friends encouraged Banhart, and he sent out a few tentative demos. He also left SFAI in favor of busking and wandering, and his travels led him from the Bay Area to Paris and eventually back to L.A. By now he was performing regularly, but he hadn't recorded or released anything officially. That changed when Michael Gira (Swans) issued the first Banhart material on his Young God imprint in October 2002. Oh Me Oh My... was an immediate critical hit, and comparisons to legends of songwriting, eclecticism, and tragedy were frequent (Tim Buckley, Syd Barrett, Marc Bolan, et al.). The Black Babies EP arrived in 2003, followed by Banhart's first full-length, Rejoicing in the Hands, in April 2004. Young God released its companion, Ni�ojo, in September. Acclaim for both was nearly unanimous, and Banhart's audience continued to expand. He jumped to XL for September 2005's Cripple Crow, an ambitious set and his most sonically expansive album up to that point. ~ Jason MacNeil & Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide read more

Devendra Banhart (born May 30 1981, in Houston, Texas, U.S.) is a folk rock singer-songwriter and musician. Banhart's music has been classified as indie folk, psych folk, Naturalismo, and New Weird America; his lyrics are often surreal and naturalistic.

Banhart was raised in Venezuela. He gained popularity while living in San Francisco after attending the San Francisco Art Institute and further gained popularity when he subsequently moved to New York City to record under Young God Records, based in New York City. Banhart currently lives in Los Angeles.

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Devendra Banhart (Born 30th May 1981 in Houston, Texas, but brought up in Venezuela) is an avant-folk singer-songwriter whose first few records were released on the Young God Records label from New York City. His most recent CD was released by XL Recordings. He is one of the most popular artists to come out of the “new weird america” movement, which includes performers such as Faun Fables, Viking Moses, Jack Rose, Jana Hunter, the MV + EE Medicine Show, Currituck Co., Six Organs of Admittance, and We the Royal. He is also a member of the group Vetiver. His music tends to consist of fairly simple guitar melodies with minimal other instrumentation, and his lyrics are often surreal and naturalistic. His involvement in the Los Angeles artist community is reflected in “Smokey Rolls down Thunder Canyon”, released in September 2007. Banhart was discovered by Michael Gira of Swans, who released his Oh Me Oh My… album on his own Young God Records label in 2002. In 2005, he (along with Andy Cabic and Revolver USA) created the Gnomonsong record label. Banhart also was one of the younger musicians responsible for “rediscovering” the music of folksinger Vashti Bunyan. Bunyan is a guest vocalist on his CD Rejoicing in the Hands of the Golden Empress. read more

With his trippy, logorrheic drones and hipster irony, Devendra Banhart, a San Francisco-based former art student, is helping to push forward folk music. The fascination with his work comes not so much from his roughhewn DIY talent, but from his unique view of antecedents and their music. Whereas the likes of Sandy Bull, Bert Jansch and Leo Kottke all held respectful attitudes of imitation and meaning, Banhart and his Blakean universes of symbols are obeisant to no one but himself. As with Joanna Newsome, Preston Reed, Animal Collective, Dead Raven Choir and Jack Rose, Banhart attempts to use lush metaphors to point out their emptiness. But while his music can be movingly effective, it can also be slipshod and narcissistic.

The consistency of themes, styles and artistic purpose in his songs is no accident: Black Babies consists of leftovers from Oh Me Oh My; Rejoicing and Niño Rojo were recorded at the same time. Banhart creates with an intense inwardness; as with the work of Leadbelly, Daniel Johnston, Michael Hurley and Marc Bolan, the music is private, unyielding and atmospheric. The singing, as befits a man who has drifted and been homeless, is full of anguish and plaintive wailings, trippily moving in and out of the acoustic guitar melodies, unsure at times, but for the most part quaveringly authentic. Recorded on a 4-track and later augmented with accompaniment, the songs are fearless and confident. On the debut, a homespun song cycle adeptly blends stark, dreamy bitter truths. This is the sound of someone who has only temporarily weathered the storm.

The EP lacks the textured smoothness of the later work but compensates with spooky self-indulgence. Occasional shrillness and sorrowful Blind Willie McTell strumming adds gallows humor to the proceedings. Banhart moans and whistles his way through these frosty love songs, songs about an affair done with hobo mythologizing.

Rejoicing and Niño Rojo are heartfelt outpourings of off-rhymes, concern for children, disappointment with cities and more esoteric concerns. Unfortunately, what is harrowing and mournful and intense for one person is ennui to another. The songs are better, and the singing has grown by leaps in expressiveness, but there is unwillingness to alter the ambience. As with Woody Guthrie — who he resembles in his distaste for fakes, urban nightmares and oppressive regimes — Banhart never backs off from his fractured fairy tales. Like Jandek, another possible musical analog, Banhart can reach down into depths we only imagine we can reach. Rejoicing is more musical than Niño Rojo — a few of the songs share the lyrical, haunting sadness of Phil Ochs in his decline — but both albums celebrate the tough-minded grandeur often found in idiosyncratic American artists: a singer and his guitar with miles and miles of cold road ahead. Banhart is essentially a private and odd man talking to himself about the universality of failed love. He is at once imprisoned and free.

[Michael Baker]
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