Watch: Devendra Banhart Shares "Memorial" from Forthcoming Album, "Ma"

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Devendra Banhart has released the third song from his forthcoming album Ma, "Memorial." 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. You can watch a visualizer featuring Banhart's art from the album cover, here.

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Devendra Banhart has released the third song from his forthcoming album Ma, "Memorial." 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. You can watch a visualizer featuring Banhart's art from the album cover, here:

Asked about the origins of the song, Devendra wrote:

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 ...
I don't know ... Maybe, maybe, maybe ...

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. The first song from the new album was unveiled last month. "Kantori Ongaku" ("Country Music") was accompanied by a surrealist video by Giraffe Studios. Ma is available to pre-order here. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include instant downloads of "Kantori Ongaku" and "Abre Las Manos," plus an exclusive, limited-edition print, created and signed by Banhart. Ed: The limited-edition autographed print included with initial pre-orders is no longer available.

For his autumn tour in support of Ma, he's partnering with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold in the US 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. For details on his tour, his first of North America since 2017, see below and visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

DEVENDRA BANHART ON TOUR

Sep 27 Ohana Festival Dana Point, CA
Oct 15 The Majestic Ventura Theater Ventura, CA
Oct 16 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
Oct 18 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
Oct 19 Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
Oct 20 WOW Hall Eugene, OR
Oct 22 The UC Theatre Berkeley, CA
Oct 24 The Theatre at Ace Hotel Los Angeles, CA
Oct 25 The Yost Theater Santa Ana, CA
Oct 26 The Observatory North Park San Diego, CA
Oct 27 Crescent Ballroom Phoenix, AZ
Oct 30 Boulder Theater Boulder, CO
Nov 1 The Slowdown Omaha, NE
Nov 2 Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
Nov 3 Thalia Hall Chicago, IL
Nov 5 The Hi Tone Memphis, TN
Nov 7 Levitation Festival Austin, TX
Nov 23 Tecate Bajío Festival León, Guanajuato, MEXICO
Nov 25 El Plaza Condesa Mexico City, MEXICO
Nov 30 Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, MI
Dec 1 Danforth Music Hall Toronto, ON
Dec 3 The Olympia Montreal, QC
Dec 4 The Wilbur Boston, MA
Dec 5 Brooklyn Steel Brooklyn, NY
Dec 7 9:30 Club Washington, DC
Dec 8 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA
     
featuredimage
Devendra Banhart 2019 by Lauren Dukoff bw dk
  • Thursday, August 1, 2019
    Watch: Devendra Banhart Shares "Memorial" from Forthcoming Album, "Ma"
    Lauren Dukoff

    Devendra Banhart has released the third song from his forthcoming album Ma, "Memorial." 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. You can watch a visualizer featuring Banhart's art from the album cover, here:

    Asked about the origins of the song, Devendra wrote:

    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 ...
    I don't know ... Maybe, maybe, maybe ...

    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. The first song from the new album was unveiled last month. "Kantori Ongaku" ("Country Music") was accompanied by a surrealist video by Giraffe Studios. Ma is available to pre-order here. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include instant downloads of "Kantori Ongaku" and "Abre Las Manos," plus an exclusive, limited-edition print, created and signed by Banhart. Ed: The limited-edition autographed print included with initial pre-orders is no longer available.

    For his autumn tour in support of Ma, he's partnering with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold in the US 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. For details on his tour, his first of North America since 2017, see below and visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

    DEVENDRA BANHART ON TOUR

    Sep 27 Ohana Festival Dana Point, CA
    Oct 15 The Majestic Ventura Theater Ventura, CA
    Oct 16 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
    Oct 18 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
    Oct 19 Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
    Oct 20 WOW Hall Eugene, OR
    Oct 22 The UC Theatre Berkeley, CA
    Oct 24 The Theatre at Ace Hotel Los Angeles, CA
    Oct 25 The Yost Theater Santa Ana, CA
    Oct 26 The Observatory North Park San Diego, CA
    Oct 27 Crescent Ballroom Phoenix, AZ
    Oct 30 Boulder Theater Boulder, CO
    Nov 1 The Slowdown Omaha, NE
    Nov 2 Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
    Nov 3 Thalia Hall Chicago, IL
    Nov 5 The Hi Tone Memphis, TN
    Nov 7 Levitation Festival Austin, TX
    Nov 23 Tecate Bajío Festival León, Guanajuato, MEXICO
    Nov 25 El Plaza Condesa Mexico City, MEXICO
    Nov 30 Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, MI
    Dec 1 Danforth Music Hall Toronto, ON
    Dec 3 The Olympia Montreal, QC
    Dec 4 The Wilbur Boston, MA
    Dec 5 Brooklyn Steel Brooklyn, NY
    Dec 7 9:30 Club Washington, DC
    Dec 8 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA
         
    Journal Articles:Artist NewsVideo

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