Devendra Banhart

Born May 31, 1983, Devendra Barnhart grew up in Caracas, Venezuela until the age of 14 when he, his mother, and step father moved to Los Angeles, California, U.S. With a proclivity towards the creative, Banhart won a scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute, and began experimenting under the watchful eye of poet and professor Bill Berskon. It wasn’t long however before Barnhart began skipping classes to busk on the streets, and started recording demos of his songs. The singer’s debut performance came singing Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” at a gay wedding in San Fransisco, after which Banhart travelled to Paris and opened for the likes of Sonic Youth.

By 2000 however the musician was back in San Francisco and his demo “The Charles C. Leary”, caught to attention of the Young God Records owner and Swans member, Michael Gira. Compiled from various Banhart recordings, 2002’s “Oh Me Oh My” was issued on Young God Records and earned glowing reviews from the musical press. A year later the EP “Black Babies” arrived, followed by his first cohesive full-length “Rejoicing in the Hands” in April 2004. The album has been considered Banhart’s finest work for its enchanting and seamlessly authentic appeal, and received rave reviews from critics. Its companion album “Niño Rojo” arrived later in the year, with fan and critic enthusiasm on par with its predecessor.

Following the pair of releases, and a contribution to Anthony and the Johnsons’ album “I Am a Bird Now”, Banhart signed to the revered independent label XL to release “Cripple Crow” in September 2005. The album marked the first to experiment with sonic soundscapes, and represents Banhart’s most adventurous collection of songs to date. Two years later XL issued “Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon”, which was recorded at Banhart’s home studio, and reached No. 115 on the Billboard 200. In 2008, in a collaboration entitled Megapuss, with Gregory Rogove and Fabrizio Moretti of the Strokes and Little Joy, Banhart released the album “Surfing”. A year later in 2009, having moved to Warner Bros., the singer-songwriter released “What Will We Be” to positive reviews followed in 2012 with “Mala”.