Pit5 Music News Cache

By Michael D. Ayers Fri Sep 7, 8:17 PM ET

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Singer-songwriter Devendra Banhart has always been nomadic in his approach to music, whether it's strolling onstage through the audience to begin a concert or recording in a new location each time.

That wandering spirit is in full effect throughout the 16 tracks of "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon," due September 25 via XL Recordings.

"We needed to find the 'Woodstock' of California," Banhart recalled. "I guess I've lived in a bunch of places, but California feels like home."

Texas-born, Venezuela-raised Banhart -- whose singular style of folk-rock draws upon blues, psychedelia and South American traditional music -- and his band ended up renting a house in Topanga Canyon, just outside of Los Angeles. They lived there. They ate there. They recorded there. And they built the studio there, from the ground up. "We used the recording budget to find equipment, instead of booking studio time," he said of the six-month-long process.

"We never left the house once, except to get coffee and surf," Banhart said. On the resulting songs, he sings in Portuguese, incorporates gospel motifs and at times recalls the early work of Van Morrison.

"I've always loved bluebeat, ska and reggae. And I've always been interested in Jewish culture. I was in Israel last year, two days before the war broke out. Real experiences were definitely an influence this time," he said.

Banhart also ditched the acoustic guitar leanings of his earlier work in favor of piano-based arrangements. "I was writing more on the piano because I had one in the house," he said. "I would duck out of the sessions and play whenever I could. It was a luxury not having studio time, but it was also maddening when your vocal booth was your bedroom."

There was also a secret weapon: crystals.

"A huge key is having a label that will include crystals in your budget," Banhart said of XL, for which he's been recording since 2005's "Cripple Crow." It's the artist's best-selling album, at 47,000 U.S. copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"We wanted Devendra to have everything he needed to make this album," said XL senior vice president of A&R Kris Chen, who lured Banhart from Young God Records. "Devendra's album is the most important release this fall for XL."

Banhart's hope for the album is much more modest. "For those who hate the record, blame the crystals," he said. "For those who love it, seek them."

Reuters/Billboard