Devendra Banhart

A Houston-born singer-songwriter and visual artist who grew up in Venezuela and California, and whose early albums for Young God Records made him the best-known name in freak folk.

Origin: Houston, Texas
Years active: 2002-present
Genres: psychedelic folk, freak folk
Labels: Young God Records, XL Recordings, Reprise Records, Nonesuch Records

Origins

Devendra Obi Banhart was born in Houston, Texas, on May 30, 1981. He grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, and when he was 14 he moved to Los Angeles. In 1998 he began studying at the San Francisco Art Institute on a scholarship, though he often busked instead of going to class. He dropped out in 2000 to pursue music, spent that summer in Paris opening shows for indie rock bands including Sonic Youth, and then played around San Francisco and Los Angeles.

His break came through Michael Gira, the founder of Swans and owner of Young God Records. Siobhan Duffy bought a copy of Banhart's CD demo The Charles C. Leary and gave it to Gira. Gira and Banhart then compiled a first album from Banhart's recordings. Oh Me Oh My, made up of short musical fragments, was published by Young God in 2002.

The Young God albums

Unlike the debut, the follow-up was professionally recorded. Rejoicing in the Hands was recorded during 2003 and released on May 4, 2004. Banhart and Gira produced it, and the guests included Vashti Bunyan, whom Banhart names among his main influences, along with Thor Harris, Joe McGinty and Julia Kent. Pitchfork's Dominique Leone found it "far from slick" and full of "rustic, homemade charm", and said it established Banhart as "a major voice in new folk music". By September 2005 it had sold 24,000 copies in the United States.

Niño Rojo followed on September 13, 2004, also on Young God. Its songs soon turned up in advertising: "At the Hop" in a 2005 cheese commercial, and Little Yellow Spider in a 2007 commercial for Orange mobile phones.

Cripple Crow and the move to major labels

In 2005 Banhart moved to XL Recordings. Cripple Crow, released on September 13, 2005, was recorded at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York, and had a more elaborate sound than the Young God records. Andy Cabic, Noah Georgeson and Thom Monahan produced it alongside Banhart, and its cover echoed Sgt. Pepper. Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy wrote that it provided, "in a sense", the loose-knit scene's "strongest group effort to date". It holds I Feel Just Like a Child, a song Banhart wrote at 18 and recorded properly a few years later.

Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon arrived on September 25, 2007, recorded in Topanga Canyon with more instrumentation and more genre experimentation. It reached No. 115 on the Billboard 200 and No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2007, and "Lover" appeared in the soundtrack of the film Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, in which Banhart had a cameo. In 2009 he signed to Warner Bros. and Reprise and released What Will We Be on October 27.

Nonesuch and later work

His first album for Nonesuch, Mala, came out on March 12, 2013, produced by Banhart and Noah Georgeson. Pitchfork's Ian Cohen called it Banhart's best record in nearly a decade, largely because it was his loosest and funniest. Ape in Pink Marble followed on September 23, 2016, and Ma on September 13, 2019. Grayson Haver Currin of Pitchfork called Ma his best and most cohesive statement in more than a decade. It has songs in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese. Cate Le Bon produced his later album Flying Wig.

Banhart is also a visual artist. His drawings have been shown at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, he published his first book of poetry, Weeping Gang Bliss Void Yab-Yum, in 2019, and his first solo show in Los Angeles, The Grief I Have Caused You, opened at Nicodim Gallery in March 2020. He scored the films Joshy in 2015 and Arkansas in 2020. In December 2022 he played in Caracas, his first show in Venezuela. He has said he did not coin the term freak folk and hated the tag, but decided to embrace it.

Records

Rejoicing in the Hands 2004 · Young God Records
Banhart's professionally recorded follow-up to his debut, released by Young God Records in 2004 and later placed on the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list.
Niño Rojo 2004 · Young God Records
The second Banhart album of 2004, again on Young God, with a group of guests and two songs that later sold products.
Cripple Crow 2005 · XL Recordings
Banhart's first album for XL Recordings, made with a wide circle of friends at Bearsville Studios.
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon 2007 · XL Recordings
A 2007 album with more instruments and more styles than the records before it, dedicated to Alice Coltrane, Malachi Ritscher and Elliott Smith.
Mala 2013 · Nonesuch Records
Banhart's first album for Nonesuch, a set of short, spare songs praised in 2013 as his loosest and funniest.

Songs

I Feel Just Like a Child Cripple Crow · 2005
A song Banhart wrote at 18 as a slow blues and recorded properly for Cripple Crow.
The Body Breaks Rejoicing in the Hands · 2004
The third track on Rejoicing in the Hands, used in the 2007 film Eagle vs. Shark.
Insect Eyes Rejoicing in the Hands · 2004
The longest track on Rejoicing in the Hands, at 5:08, and the song used to promote a horror sequel.
Little Yellow Spider Niño Rojo · 2004
A 3:39 track from Niño Rojo that was used in a 2007 mobile phone commercial.
Seahorse Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon · 2007
At 8:04, the longest track on Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, and a Rolling Stone pick for 2007.

Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, Joanna Newsom, CocoRosie, Swans

Where to go next

Reference

Devendra Banhart Biography, discography and visual-art career.
Rejoicing in the Hands Album page with personnel, sales and reception.
Niño Rojo Album page with personnel and licensing.
Cripple Crow Album page with personnel and sales.
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon Album page with band and year-end list placements.
Mala Album page with collected reviews.
Ma Album page with recording locations.
Ape in Pink Marble Album page for the 2016 release.
What Will We Be Album page for the 2009 Warner Bros. release.

Writing and criticism

Devendra Banhart: Rejoicing in the Hands Pitchfork's 2004 review.
Devendra Banhart: Cripple Crow Pitchfork's 2005 review, with the guest list.
Devendra Banhart: Ma Pitchfork's 2019 review, looking back over his career.
Ape in Pink Marble review The Observer's 2016 review.

Interviews

Devendra Banhart: reader interview A 2023 question-and-answer on freak folk, his name and early albums.

Sources

Devendra Banhart, Wikipedia
Devendra Banhart: Rejoicing in the Hands, Pitchfork (2004-03-16)
Devendra Banhart: Cripple Crow, Pitchfork (2005-09-12)
Devendra Banhart: Mala, Pitchfork (2013-03-12)
Devendra Banhart: Ma, Pitchfork (2019-09-19)
Devendra Banhart: reader interview, The Guardian (2023-07-27)
How Devendra Banhart made I Feel Just Like a Child, The Guardian (2025-09-08)