Devendra Banhart 'Relieved' to Finish Major Label Debut

Devendra Banhart doesn't care about promoting himself or his folk-pop albums in interviews. He's more concerned with discussing his favorite up-and-coming indie acts at the moment, which right now include Vetiver, Here We Go Magic and Happy Birthday.

"The only real purpose of interviews for me is to talk about other artists," Banhart tells Spinner. "When I was a kid, I would read interviews of my favorite bands to see what other bands they were listening to. That's how I got into some of my favorite music."

Banhart's adversity to self-promotion, along with his trembling warble and free-form freak-folk ditties, don't exactly scream "major label." Yet after spending his career on independent labels Young God and XL, Banhart shopped his sixth studio album, 'What We Will Be,' to both indies and majors upon its completion, ultimately ending up on Warner Bros. records earlier this year.

"It was so odd to me that they were willing to sign me, since I'm not commercially viable. But Warner Bros. was very sincere and got behind my whole vision," Banhart says. "I keep going to the office waiting for them to reveal their true nature and say something like, 'We remixed the record, and added vocals by Pink,' which would actually be really cool. So far, it hasn't happened yet though."

Recorded this spring in Northern California, 'What We Will Be' features Banhart's hypnotically rustic sound on tracks like 'Goin' Back to the Place' while offering catchier love songs like single 'Baby.' Produced by Banhart and A Band of Bees' Paul Butler, 'Be' sounds more relaxed than 2007's 'Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon,' which Banhart chalks up to a more isolated recording space and his first-ever use of vocal warm-ups.

Banhart will support the release with a North American headlining tour kicking off Nov. 16 in Chicago, followed by a European trek in December. While he doesn't know how fans will react to his new album, Banhart believes that the disc offers something for everyone musically. "I'm relieved that it's done, and that I can bequeath this upon the world," he says. "Hopefully I'll get the chance to get another one done like this."

'What We Will Be' is out now on Warner Bros./Reprise Records.