Devendra Banhart Releases Song from Album MA

Devendra Banhart releases the third song from his forthcoming album Ma, "Memorial," today. The album will be released on September 13 on Nonesuch Records. A tribute to loved ones who have gone too soon, "Memorial" explores the process of mourning. The intimacy of the recording, the sadness in Banhart's quivering vocals, and the beautiful melancholy of the lyrics showcase an artist attempting to understand death. Asked about the origins of the song, Devendra wrote the below:

Memorial

Is about loss....

&

The strangeness

of feeling

So numb,

and yet

so completely heart-broken-open....

It's about three people I loved very much,

And some of it happened just like it says in the song ....

Someone really did propose at one of the memorials ...

We all thought they would have loved how surreal, romantic, and inappropriate that was...

It's about those last moments,

How painful and perfect they were,

All the tears, all the tears.....

I don't know what else to say,

Except that I wrote the song for you,

to tell you about it, see if maybe you know what I mean,

tell you everything, see if maybe it brings us closer, makes it easier to tell each other how much we love and appreciate one another....

Ma, full of tender, autobiographical vignettes, displays a shift from the sonic experimentation of his previous albums to an intricate, captivating story-telling and emotional intimacy. Banhart favors organic sounds to accompany his voice and guitar, the arrangements bolstered by strings, woodwinds, brass, and keyboards. He sings in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The first song released from Ma was "Kantori Ongaku" ("Country Music") which came accompanied by a surrealist video by Giraffe Studios. Last month saw the release of "Abre Los Manos" ("Open Your Hands"), a tender-hearted love letter to his motherland of Venezuela. Ma is available to pre-order here. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an exclusive, limited-edition print, created and signed by Banhart.

Banhart recently announced a twenty-five city North American tour for autumn 2019, beginning October 15 in Ventura, CA. This will be his first tour of North America since 2017; an overseas tour will be announced soon. Devendra is partnering with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold in the U.S. will go to World Central Kitchen (WCK), an organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize-nominated chef José Andrés to fight hunger around the world. WCK is currently responding to the crisis on the Colombia-Venezuelan border and has served more than 350,000 meals to date. Tickets here.

Devendra Banhart North American Tour Dates:

09/27/19 - Dana Point, CA @ OHANA Festival

10/15/19 - Ventura, CA @ The Majestic Ventura Theater

10/16/19 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore

10/18/19 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom

10/19/19 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre

10/20/19 - Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall ^

10/22/19 - Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre

10/24/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel

10/25/19 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Yost Theater

10/26/19 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park

10/27/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom

10/30/19 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater *

11/01/19 - Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown *

11/02/19 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater *

11/03/19 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *

11/05/19 - Memphis, TN @ The Hi Tone *

11/07/19 - Austin, TX @ Stubbs (Levitation)

11/23/18 - Leon, Guanajuato Mx @ Tecate Bajio Festival

11/30/19 - Detroit, MI @ Museum of Contemporary Art *

12/01/19 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall *

12/03/19 - Montreal, QC @ The Olympia *

12/04/19 - Boston, MA @ The Wilbur *

12/05/19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel *

12/07/19 - Washington, D.C. @ 930 Club *

12/08/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *

* w/ Black Belt Eagle Scout

^ w/ Daniel Higgs

Photo Credit: Lauren Dukoff

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