I didn't even realise Devendra Banhart was still making music until I received this tune in my inbox. Taken from his forthcoming album Ma, "Abre Las Manos" is inspired by the relationship he has with his mother and finds Banhart singing in Spanish.
"Abre Las Manos" translates to "Open Your Hands," with the song a tender folk ballad creating a worldly feel. The accompanying film clip features a visual slideshow of amateur photographs taken from Flickr of Caracas and El Avila National Park in Venezuela that were licensed through Creative Commons. Speaking on Ma, Banhart had this to say;
My brother my cousins, my aunts and uncles are in Venezuela. They are just holding their breath, in gridlock standstill. Maybe there is more Spanish writing on Ma because of the helplessness I'm feeling, it's on my mind more than ever. I was thinking about the sorrow of having to put a child up for adoption, loving that child but not being with them, for whatever reason. That child is out in the world and you have to love them from afar, and that is exactly how I have felt observing the situation in Venezuela.
There's this helplessness, this place that has been a mother to you, that you're a mother to as well, and it's suffering so much. There is nothing you can do but send out love and remain in that sorrowful state.
Ma is set for release September 13.
SIMILAR SONGS
