Devadas (Andrew Labrecque)

Devadas
Background information
Birth name	Andrew Labrecque
Born	21 April 1972 (1972-04-21) (age 39) Wakefield, Massachusetts, USA
Genres	Bhajans Kirtan Folk Rock
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, drums
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Independent
Associated acts	J and Friends
Website	[1]

Devadas (born April 21, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and kirtan artist. He currently lives in Brooklyn, performing in meditation centers, yoga centers and New York bars and cafés.

Biography

Devadas (born Andrew Labrecque April 21, 1972 in Wakefield, Massachusetts) was raised in Scarborough, Maine, a suburb of Portland. He began performing in Portland while still in high school, playing guitar and singing original compositions. His main influences were Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

By his mid twenties, he was composing regularly, and would occasionally gather enough money to record. The majority of these recordings have been lost. It was at this time that main themes in his songs began to emerge—chiefly ballads of a man lost in the world dreaming of redemption.

After moving to New York to attend NYU Film School, he fell in love with the Village’s downtown anti-folk scene and became a regular in songwriter’s circles and East Village clubs like the Sidewalk Café, Living Room and Baggot Inn.^[1]

In the mid 1990s, he became a devotee of Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, "Amma," and was introduced to the practice of bhajan, a genre of spiritual music from India. His relationship with Amma had a strong impact on his songwriting. Often his songs began to invoke her directly. He recorded two full CDs in this vein: 2005's "Shine Shine On" and 2008 "Ocean." He recorded these songs under the name Devadas, a name given to him by Amma, and these recordings featured guest appearances by Krishna Das, J Mascis and Wah!. Profits from these CDs go to Amma's charitable humanitarian mission of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math.

In 2009, speaking about the impact of Amma on his music, Devadas said, “The music and what [Amma] was singing was a little bit different than what I was doing. I was just writing folk-rock songs, and she was singing these Hindi and Malayalam bhajans, which are call-and-response songs with harmoniums and tablas and all this stuff. And when I heard that, I kind of put my own songwriting away for a little while. I didn’t know whether I could reconcile the two. I didn’t even know if I should be writing in the same way that I was. I was kind of feeling like maybe it was coming from a place of ego and maybe it didn’t have any place in spiritual practice. But then, after being around Amma for some time, I realized that she was actually writing songs, too. She is an amazing songwriter. And I started really paying attention to the meaning of the songs that she had composed, and it inspired me to write again, and I kind of felt like it was something I could be doing and should be doing, and it has grown into probably the biggest part of my spiritual practice at this point in my life.”^[2]

In 2008, Devadas also contributed backing vocals and percussion on a recording made by J Mascis, "J and Friends Sing and Chant for Amma." He regularly leads kirtan on the East Coast at yoga and meditation centers, including Dharma Mittra Yoga, Jaya Yoga, Prema Yoga, Jivamukti and Kripalu.^[3]

Discography

2005 Shine Shine On
2008 Ocean
2010 Milton's Glen
2010 Bhajans

References

1. ^ WRPI-FM, "In the Spirit," 19 February 2009
2. ^ WRPI-FM, "In the Spirit," 19 February 2009
3. ^ WRPI-FM, "In the Spirit," 18 February 2010

External links

• Devadas Website
• Devadas Fansite
• Devadas Video
• Devadas and J Mascis

Persondata
Name	Devadas
Alternative names	Andrew Labrecque
Short description	U.S. singer of kirtans
Date of birth	April 21, 1972
Place of birth	Wakefield, Massachusetts
Date of death
Place of death