“As anthropomorphic and surreal people have said my early writing was, to me it was really stock and almost banal in the sense that it was just description, the poetry of comparing: 'Your feet are like A, and your eyes like B.'”

American singer-songwriter and visual artist

Devendra Banhart is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Born in Texas, he grew up in Venezuela and California, and came to prominence in the 2000s. He dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute in 2000 to focus on music. He released his debut album in 2002 and is especially associated with later albums such as Cripple Crow and Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. Alongside his music, he has also pursued visual art, building a career that draws on both interests.