For many years, Lauren Dukoff has been photographing close friend and musician Devendra Banhart and an extended, loose-knit international family of artists who share inspiration variously from folk, Tropicalia, and each other, as well as a range of other musical influences. FAMILY is a collection of Dukoff's striking portraits and candid images of Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Bat for Lashes, Feathers, Espers, Vetiver, Bert Jansch, Vashti Bunyan, and many others individually and together, in performance and more private spaces.
December 27th, 2010
The 2010 Grammy nominees were announced today. The nominees for Best Recording Package and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition:
Devendra Banhart – What Will We Be
Devendra Banhart & Jon Beasley, art directors
Warner Bros.
Devendra has a new site dedicated solely to his fine art work.
www.devendrabanhart-art.com
August 6th, 2010
Founded mid-2005, Cavern Collection is the ongoing collaboration of ideas between Los Angeles based artists, Adam Tullie (b.1982) and Angeline Rivas (b.1981).
Primarily focused on a core base of fashion offerings revolving around their drawings & paintings, the collection has expanded to include furniture, pillows, blankets, and one-of-a-kind jewelry & accessories.
The collection has been featured in publications including Flaunt, The Los Angeles Times, Anthem, Purple, Refinery29, Wonderland, & Style.com. The duo has also collaborated with artists Devendra Banhart, Beck, William Lemon (forthcoming), Maximilla Lukacs, and created one-of-a-kind pieces in collaboration with The Hole NYC, New High Mart, and Assembly NYC.
http://www.caverncollection.com/
August 6th, 2010
Director Todd Solondz is know for his dark, satirical tales from American suburbia (Welcome to the Dollhouse). Among his fans are Beck and Devendra Banhart, who collaborated on the title track for his latest movie Life During Wartime.
In an email to SPIN.com, Banhart called Solondz “one of the great luminaries,” and said that Solondz penned the song’s lyrics, they sang, and composer Marc Shaiman wrote the music. According to IMDB, Life During Wartime is about “friends, family, and lovers [who] struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in a war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos,” and the song captures that sentiment.
“I try to forgive / I try forget / I try not to relive what makes me upset,” Banhart croons over a gloomy lullaby of acoustic guitar, strings, and piano, as Beck adds background vocals.
The film, which is the sequel to Solondz’s 1998 release Happiness, is currently playing in select theaters.
May 13th, 2010
Beck and Bat For Lashes have collaborated on a track for the forthcoming Twilight film Eclipse.
Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan is understood to have written the lyrics for the track, called ‘Let’s Get Lost’, which she and Beck both sing. Meanwhile, Beck worked on the electronics and music for the song.
April 30th, 2010
You & Me is Kevin Barker’s debut album, released by Gnomonsong. Though it’s his first solo release under his own name, Barker’s no newcomer to the scene–he’s spent the last few years recording, touring, and collaborating with Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, Antony and the Johnsons, and Espers, to name just a few. Essentially acting as everyone’s favorite sideman, Barker has influenced and helped create a sound with which this generation is happily familiar.
Now Barker has assembled an unbelievable group of musicians for You & Me. Produced by Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Lilys, Gary Louris, Devendra Banhart), the album features Pat Sansone (Wilco), Joanna Newsom, Jonathan Wilson (Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis), Eric Johnson (Shins, Fruit Bats), and Otto Hauser (Vetiver, Espers). Full of sunny, rural country rock, You & Me recalls the rustic grooves of The Band and The Grateful Dead, the heady melancholy of Roy Harper, and the golden harmonies of CSNY.
http://www.myspace.com/kwkbarker
