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Jun 13, 2023 By Kat Ramkumar Photography by Dana Trippe

Devendra Banhart has announced the release of his 11th studio album, Flying Wig, and shared its first single “Twin” through a Matt Muir directed music video. Flying Wig, which was produced by Cate Le Bon, is due out September 22 via Mexican Summer. Banhart has also shared some fall 2023 world tour dates. Below, watch the video followed by the album’s tracklist and cover artwork, as well as the tour dates.

Devendra Banhart has been making music for decades and has established himself as a visual artist in tandem with his work in music. Enthralling visuals accompany his illustrious lyrics, a constant that’s evident in “Twin.”

Of the song and its video, director Matt Muir says in a press release: “When Devendra and I originally discussed the creative approach to the ‘Twin’ music video, I really responded to the idea of searching for connection. We talked about the strange comfort of knowing that other people have experienced the pain or entrapment that we may be experiencing. I wanted to explore a framework where Devendra’s character is trapped in a cycle, but still finds beauty in the execution. Stylistically, we were definitely inspired by neon-soaked 1980s neo-noir films, but we still wanted the video to feel somewhat timeless. We also left a lot of room for improvisation on the set, to make sure Devendra’s unique sense of humor was evident in the storytelling. He was such a supportive and inventive collaborator during the entire process, and I think that really shines through in the final piece.”

Flying Wig was crafted in a secluded woodland of a Topanga canyon under a friendship built upon crude haircuts and homemade tattoos between Banhart and Le Bon. “She’s the only person I wanted to make this record with,” Banhart says. “We set out to make a record sonically unlike anything I have made before—with a new creative partner at the helm. We definitely wanted a new sound, electronic yet organic and warm…we wanted to draw out and emphasize the emotional aspect of a synthesizer.”

Banhart, donned in a blue Issey Miyake dress for most of the songwriting, created a record inspired by a Kobayashi Issa poem that reads:

“This dewdrop world-

Is a dewdrop world,

And yet,

And yet…”

“I’ve never read a more concise and clear illustration of hope,” explains Banhart. “It just sweeps me away by the breadth of its scope, as lonely as we might feel at our saddest, angriest, most desperate, most frustrated, most hopeless, most heartbroken moments, we have all felt that. The ‘and yet , and yet’ is our ability to face despair with hope, to keep on failing and loving. It’s about transmuting despair into gratitude, wounds into forgiveness, grief into praise.”

With this newfound optimism, Banhart brought the record to life with Nicole Lawrence (pedal steel and guitar), Todd Dahlhoff (bass), Greg Rogove (drums), and Euan Hinshelwood (saxophone). The mixing and engineering were done by Samur Khouja and Heba Kadry.

It’s easy to get caught up in the tumultuousness of today’s literal and metaphorical climate, but Banhart reminds us that everyone holds resilience.

Read our 2007 interview with Banhart on his fifth studio LP, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon.

Listen to our podcast episode with Banhart on his own inspirations.

Flying Wig Track List:

1. Feeling
2. Fireflies
3. Nun
4. Sight Seer
5. Sirens
6. Charger
7. Flying Wig
8. Twin
9. May
10. The Party

Devendra Banhart World Tour Dates:

Oct 3 Iowa City, IA The Englert Theatre
Oct 4 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
Oct 6 Toronto, ONT The Phoenix Concert Theatre
Oct 7 Montreal, QC Corona Theatre
Oct 8 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Oct 9 Boston, MA The Sinclair
Oct 11 New York, NY Webster Hall
Oct 12 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Oct 13 Asbury Park, NJ Asbury Lanes
Oct 14 Washington, DC The Howard Theatre
Nov 7 Lisbon, PT Coliseu
Nov 8 Braga, PT Theatro Circo
Nov 10 Madrid, ES Palacio Municipal
Nov 11 Valencia, ES La Rambleta
Nov 12 Barcelona, ES Paral.lel 62
Nov 14 Paris, FR Le Grand Rex
Nov 15 London, UK Troxy
Nov 18 Lyon, FR Le Transbordeur
Nov 19 Lausanne, CH Theatre de l’Octogone
Nov 21 Milan, IT Auditorium Fondazione Cariplo
Nov 22 Trieste, IT Teatro Politeama Rossetti
Nov 23 Vienna, AT Globe
Nov 25 Berlin, DE Passionskirche
Nov 26 Hamburg, DE Kampnagel
Nov 28 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso
Nov 29 Brussels, BE Ancienne Belgique
Dec 6 San Diego, CA Observatory North Park
Dec 7 Los Angeles, CA The Belasco
Dec 9 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Dec 11 Portland, OR Revolution Hall
Dec 12 Seattle, Wa Neptune Theatre
Dec 13 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom

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