Devendra Banhart

He worships Hildegard von Bingen, Caetano Veloso and Grace Jones, his Venezuelan-German-American hippie parents named him after a Hindu deity and a Star Wars character, and he himself has become world famous as a bearded Gesamtkunstwerk: Devendra Obi Banhart, 42, musician, responsible for the weirdest melancholic songs in recent music history. Since Banhart released his debut album on the SWANS label Young Gods in 2002, he has occupied the spot as the coolest of all indie hipsters with a psychedelically infiltrated melange of folk, samba, rock and chanson – and the countering of gender attributions with his high-pitched singing voice and by wearing long dresses. This is also the case on the cover of his new, eleventh studio album »Flying Wig«, which after several albums with Joanna Newsom producer Noah Georgeson has now been created with Welsh pop deconstructivist Cate Le Bon: wonderfully spun pop songs with a touch of Brian Eno, proving that pop music is still one of the best catalysts for despair and sadness. Live, Devendra Banhart his band will be supported by German-Polish synthesizer etherealist John Moods, who also recently released an album with Berlin trio The Zenmenn, who in turn will be guests at the ÜBERJAZZ Festival at Kampnagel in early November.