Devendra Banhart on the song that changed his life

Episode notes

(Photo: Dana Trippe)

The song that changed my life is a segment we do with musicians to tell us about the songs that made them who they are. This time around, we’re joined by Devendra Banhart.

Banhart’s a singer-songwriter. He grew up living in both the US and Venezuela. He started cutting albums in the early 2000s. Back then, Banhart’s recordings were simple. They usually contained a classical guitar, one mic and his voice: warbling and almost ancient.

Early albums of his like Niño Rojo and Rejoice in The Hand were hits – beloved by critics and college students everywhere. Writers lumped Banhart’s music alongside acts like Animal Collective and Joanna Newsom – a genre known as “freak folk.”

But Banhart’s discography is hard to pin down. He’s recorded ambient music, 60s fuzz rock, 80s new wave, and tropicália. And sometimes he’d incorporate these sounds all on the same song.

Banhart released a new album earlier this year. It’s called Flying Wig and it’s out now.

When we asked Banhart about the song that changed his life, he took us back to his childhood in Venezuela. He picked a song from one of the country’s greats: Simón Díaz.